The Abbey Theatre News

The Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, and Gate Theatre, Dublin have announced the cast for Poor, their co-production which will open at the Belgrade Theatre in May.

Aidan Cleary and Labhaoise Magee have been announced as the new leaders of Origin Theatre Company, set to bring fresh vision to the theater's future productions.

This is the last chance to vote for the 2025 BroadwayWorld Columbus Awards! Voting ends on 12/31/2025 at midnight. Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

We're in the final weeks to vote for the 2025 BroadwayWorld Columbus Awards! Voting ends on 12/31/2025 at midnight. Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

Casting has been announced for Ottilie, A Built by Barn production in association with Rathmore Productions. Richard Clements' Ottilie directed by Matthew McElhinney and performed by Jolene O'Hara.

The latest standings have been released for the 2025 BroadwayWorld Columbus Awards! Voting ends on 12/31/2025 at midnight. Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

Considered the first Irish “state of the nation” play, it’s now turned into a historical vignette imbued with hoarse black comedy. Its long placid rests are interrupted regularly by blazes of humorous energy: it entertains, but the pacing is slightly too slow for it to be full-on engaging. It’s a worthy curiosity.

The latest standings have been released for the 2025 BroadwayWorld Columbus Awards! Voting ends on 12/31/2025 at midnight. Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

National Theatre Live has announced its next slate of productions releasing to cinemas worldwide in 2026, including two National Theatre productions captured from the Lyttelton stage on London’s South Bank and the re-release of a fan-favourite.

The first standings have been released for the 2025 BroadwayWorld Columbus Awards! Voting ends on 12/31/2025 at midnight. Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve!

The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has revealed this year's finalists for the prestigious international playwriting award- the largest and oldest award recognising women+ writers for plays of outstanding quality written for the English-speaking theatre. 

The National Theatre has released the first look at the cast of The Playboy of the Western World in rehearsals. The cast features Nicola Caughlan and more.

The Liverpool Everyman and Octagon Theatre Bolton have announced complete casting for the 30th Anniversary production of Shelagh Stevenson’s Olivier Award-winning comedy, The Memory of Water. 

Corrib Theatre will present the world premiere of Stilt, a new play by writer and director Joy Nesbitt, running November 13–December 7, 2025, at the Historic Alberta House in Portland.

Ever wondered what would happen if you took Bram Stoker's legendary vampire tale and put in into a blender with the comedic influences of Mel Brooks, Monty Python and The 39 Steps? That's just what happens in this lightning-fast, laugh-out-loud 90-minute gender-bending, quick-change magical romp. When her sister Mina falls ill with a mysterious disease of the blood, Lucy Westfeldt and her fiancé, Jonathan Harker, enlist the help of famed female vampire hunter Jean Van Helsing. Doctor Jean Van Helsing and her motley company chase the dangerous and sexy Count Dracula from the English countryside to Transylvania to 'other frightening places.' Their antics brim with enough tongue-in-cheek mayhem to fill your cup of giggles.

The National Theatre has announced full casting for The Playboy of the Western World, a story of youth and self-discovery by John Millington Synge. Learn more here!

The Alliance for Jewish Theatre has appointed two dynamic leaders as Co-Executive Directors, beginning October 1st, 2025. Learn more about the new leadership here!

Celebrating its landmark 10th anniversary edition this year, Sounds from a Safe Harbour (SFSH) will return to Cork City next week. Learn more about the event here!

Murder, mystery and manhunts in Elizabethan England in 1593. How could Christopher Marlowe, a known spy and England's foremost playwright, be suspiciously murdered and quickly buried in an unmarked grave just days before he was to be tried for treason? How could William Shakespeare, an unknown actor who 'held horses for the gentry while they watched the plays,' become England's star playwright virtually overnight? A comedy-thriller that intertwines the two mysteries. It's a wild ride through the gay London theatre world as the city fights the black plague, the hunt for Catholics, and the questions about Marlowe's murder. Quickly the crown becomes suspicious of Marlowe's mysterious murder and the similarities of his works with those of Shakespeare's. A manhunt begins with Marlowe being chased from city after city in Italy. The whole chase culminates in a final confrontation of excitement and murder. All the historical facts presented in the play are accurate.

Although it is mainly known for its mass production of the Bible, Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press was also responsible for the mass distribution of Greek myths and texts to spark the age of enlightenment.