Today was the first day of the Dublin Fringe Festival 2013! There’s a few previews happening over the next couple of days – including the boy-lesque show Briefs in Vicar Street (the first show just finished and from the looks of twitter, they smashed it! Get your tickets quick!) – so get in early to get the cheap preview tickets. As always there is an incredible number of great shows on around the city, at all times of the day – lunchtime shows, early evening shows, late night shows – so you have absolutely no excuse to get out and see some theatre! One of my favourite things about Fringe is that you can easily fit four or fives shows into your day, if you are that way inclined. I will be doing my best to see as much as possible inbetween the two shows I’m working on. I’m looking forward to Hot for Theatre’s Break, SWING in Bewley’s Cafe Theatre, Collapsing Horse’s sci-fi show Distance from the Event and Dolls by Sorcha Kenny. There’s a couple of shows that I saw at the Fringe Fuse evenings during the year so it will be great to see finished productions of War of Attrition and In Dogs Years I’m Dead. I have to miss Nic Green’s Fatherland because of a schedule clash, which is very sad so you should all see it on my behalf.

And of course I’m looking forward to my shows being up and in front of an audience! First up is Whelp by Come As Soon As You Hear which I am producing.

It officially opens on Sunday evening at 6.30pm. (But the preview on Saturday is only €10.) and runs until Friday the 13th. It’s a very lively, energetic show with two really strong performers. I saw the dress rehearsal today and it was fantastic! It’s all about the Boomerang Babies – grown-up children who move back in with their parents. It’s a funny show but it’s also uncomfortably truthful at times. Watch the trailer here:

Whelp at Dublin Fringe Festival from Lola White on Vimeo.

I’m also helping out on Moving City as production assistant/stage manager. This is Maeve Higgins’ play, all about moving to London and settling in a new city. It’s directed by Una McKevitt.

They are two very different shows with similar themes of finding your feet and figuring out new living conditions. And they are both really good! They are also both in Smock Alley so I will be spending a whole lot of my time there over the next couple of weeks. Hopefully I will see you there!