The full Fringe programme won’t be released until August 18 but there are a few highlights listed in the Project’s latest programme. Along with Trilogy, I am also looking forward to this:

As you are now, so once were we
Why haven’t you read Ulysses? The most important Irish work of the last century is also the most unknown. Why? Spirit of the Fringe 2009 award winner The Company is back to ask you who you think you are, where you think you belong and to re-write one of the most relevant Irish literary works in light of the ways we now communicate with each other. This year The Company rediscovers what it means to be Irish.

The Company had the infuriating and fascinating Who is Fergal Kilpatrick? in last year’s Fringe and I am very interested to see their take on Ulysses. It’s a big, fat book, and an ambitious project to take on, but one with huge scope.

I read Ulysses about ten years ago. (I was going through a Classics phase.) It took me months but I was determined to finish it. I started reading it shortly after I moved to Dublin for the first time, and I think that really helped me to connect with the book. When my aunt drove me back to Dun Laoghaire on a Sunday evening, we would pass the Martello towers at Sandycove. I would see The Morning Star hotel on Amiens Street when I got the train from Connelly and was amazed that it was still there. It made the book seem more real. I will be interested to see what The Company do with it.

Sorcha Kelly’s My Life in Dresses is another Fringe show that I will be looking out for. It was part of the last Project Brand New (fourth one down) and I’m interested to see how the show will develop from that work-in-progress. I’ve also been keeping up-to-date with her blog for the project. Her dresses have been up to all sorts of adventures!

I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on the full programme and finding out what other treats the Fringe has in store!