• The festival has been extended by an extra weekend and will run for a total of 16 days (30th September – 15th October)
  
• Productions are drawn from all corners of the globe and include representations from Belgium, UK, Russia, Lithuania, South Africa, USA, Germany, Peru, and Ireland.
  
• A series of new initiatives including the introduction of Theatre Olympics, a series of special events, workshops, exhibitions, forums, to augment and complement the main stage productions.
  
• The major Irish commission this year, is The Bull, inspired by the novel (An Tain) and created by the Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre.
  
• An original new production entitled Some Girls are Bigger than Others, based on the songs of the famous 80''s pop icons, "The Smiths".
  
• Three of Europe''s most imaginative and audacious directors bring a new contemporary sensibility to three of Shakespeare''s greatest classic dramas. Edward Hall, will direct The Winter''s Tale, Conall Morrison will direct Hamlet, and Oskaras Korsunovas will bring his production of Romeo and Juliet.
  
• The Gate Theatre in partnership with the Dublin Theatre Festival will present Pinter 75, a celebration to mark the 75th Birthday of one of the most important playwrights of our day, including mainstage productions and a dramatised reading by Harold Pinter of his own play Family Voices.
  
• The Festival will also pay homage to the bicentenary of Hans Christian Anderson as part of our new Family Series in partnership with The Ark.
  
• The highly controversial political drama Bloody Sunday: Scenes from Saville Inquiry will make its Ireland premiere in the second half at the Festival.
  
• Prior to a West End run, the Broadway production of I am My Own Wife comes to the Festival having won two Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize. 
   
  

This will mark one of the largest Festivals ever presented with the extension of an additional weekend, and reflects the Festival''s strategy to make the event as accessible as possible to its audiences.  Under its new Artistic Director, the 2005 Festival will feature a total of nineteen main-stage productions. The programme promises to be bold, diverse, inclusive, entertaining and uncompromising, and will feature some of the world''s greatest artistic achievements from countries such as Belgium, Russia, USA, Germany, Peru, South Africa, and Ireland. 

The dominant themes threaded throughout the festival are those of passion, politics, and betrayal - theatre which is guaranteed to challenge our everyday perceptions.

Politics are placed front and centre with the presentation of Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville Inquiry. Presented in collaboration with our co-producer, the British Council, and our partner, The Abbey Theatre, we are proud to present the Irish Premiere of this original, political docudrama, drawn verbatim from the controversial and ongoing Inquiry. This thought-provoking creation from the Tricycle Theatre in London is sure to arouse strong interest as it is placed on the Abbey stage.

The Bull, co- commissioned by the Festival, is inspired by the Irish epic, An Tain, and is created by the fertile imagination of Michael Keegan-Dolan in this highly-anticipated return after the run-away success of Giselle at the 2003 Dublin Theatre Festival.  This new work will feature an international cast and will be co-produced in collaboration with Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre, the Dublin Theatre Festival, and BITE:07, Barbican, London.

The Shakespearean Series, entitled Such Sweet Thunder, is classic in nature but definitely contemporary in style. This new series will be directed by three of Europe''s most innovative directors: Propeller''s The Winter''s Tale, will be directed by Edward Hall; Hamlet, a visceral new co-production by the Abbey Theatre and Lyric Theatre, is directed by Conall Morrison, and Romeo and Juliet will be directed by one of Lithuania''s fastest rising stars, Oskarus Korsunovas.

Another new creation this year is based on the songs of The Smiths (the cult pop group of the 80''s). This ironic and witty production, entitled Some Girl Are Bigger Than Others, is a music/theatre hybrid featuring 20 songs by Morrissey and Johnny Marr.  It is a co-production with Glynis Henderson Productions (producers of Stomp) and the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in London. 

Pinter 75 is a milestone event to mark the 75th Birthday of one of the world''''s greatest dramatists.  In partnership with the Gate Theatre, the Festival will showcase the plays Old Times and Betrayal.  Prior to his birthday on October 10th, the preceding weekend will feature a series of events entitled Pinter''s Landscape, with films, readings, forums, discussions, celebrity guests, and a dramatised reading by the playwright himself of Family Voices.

For those audiences who revel in more challenging, cutting-edge work, the Festival offers three highly thought-provoking productions. White Star, winner of the Kontakt Grand Prix Award, is a play from Belgium about people terrified of living unnoticed; Tshepang, a contemporary South African play about love, violence, and forgiveness, based on factual evidence; and finally, White Cabin, produced by Ahke, a Russian company renowned for breaking the boundaries of conventional theatre, with their special brand of absurd, avant-garde, and inspired imagistic theatre.

Laurel and Hardy will be showcased at the Olympia Theatre (where the famous Hollywood comedic duo once played). This new work is a poignant and insightful look at the humanity behind the comedy; their rise to fame, their eventual decline, and the impact they made on the world of vaudeville, as one of the world''''s most-beloved comedy teams.

The Festival is delighted to present the Battle of Stalingrad, a beautiful and poignant love story from Georgia, played in front of the backdrop of the famous Russian battle. This special award-winning production, performed at the Samuel Beckett Theatre, has won the hearts and minds of theatre audiences around the world, and drew exceptional rave reviews when it was premiered at the Lincoln Center in New York.

In addition to the Pinter 75 celebration, the Dublin Theatre Festival will also focus on the anniversaries of two other renowned writers. As Charlotte Bronte''s 150th anniversary is being celebrated worldwide, Shared Experience, one of the UK''s most celebrated theatre companies (renowned internationally for their work in combining physical theatre with great works of literature), will create a new work entitled Bronte, revolving around the three Bronte sisters, well-known for their creation of some of the best loved romantic Victorian literature. The Dublin Theatre Festival, in collaboration with The Ark, will also pay tribute to Hans Christian Anderson on the occasion of his 200th anniversary.

The Family Season this year at The Ark will play host to three remarkable companies from countries including Germany and Peru. Children are encouraged to bring their parents to an event which promises some of the best work currently available on the contemporary stages of Europe and South America.

We are also delighted to bring the original stage production of I Am My Own Wife to Dublin.  This powerful production has won almost every conceivable award on Broadway, including Tony Awards for Best Production, Best Actor, and other prestigious awards such as the Pulitzer Prize, an Obie, and the Drama League Award.  The Broadway production will feature the original star (Jefferson Mays) in this astonishing true story about Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a transvestite and famous antiques dealer, who successfully navigated the two most oppressive regimes of the past century – the Nazis and the Communists.

Theatre Olympics is a new component being introduced into the Festival this year, designed to enrich the main-stage menu by offering an array of special events, workshops, panel discussions, original creations, exhibitions, and cabarets scheduled at The Sugar Club.

The 2005 Dublin Theatre Festival offers a once-in-a-lifetime experience to completely immerse yourself in the sheer beauty and imaginative power of live theatre.  In these strange, unpredictable and unnerving times, perhaps we need the theatre even more to remind us of our own humanity, to remind us of the power of the imagination, and the importance of nourishing the spirit. Our productions will reflect the energy, imagination, and transformative power that great local, national, and international theatre has to offer.  Please join us by taking a seat at the table.

The Dublin Theatre Festival 2005 is sponsored by Accenture, Glen Dimplex, Irish Times, RTE