It’s only a month since it all ended but the Dublin Fringe and Dublin Theatre Festival already seem like a long time ago. We’ve had time to get our breath back, catch up on sleep and recover from too many late nights in the festival clubs. It’s easy to be over-loaded with choice during the festivals and sometimes it can feel like you’ve over-dosed on great performances and fantastic productions over the two months. A hiatus might be necessary but if you stay away too long you might miss something wonderful!

One of my favourite shows from the last couple of years Pat Kinevane’s Silent is back at the Peacock until December 7, Wed-Sat at 8pm. I went to see it for the second time when it opened last week and once again, it was absolutely fantastic. Pat’s performance is captivating and Tito McGoldrick’s story of how he came to be living on the streets feels like a story that needs to be told, particularly now and particularly at this time of year.
Go see it but book soon because it is bound to sell out!

Silent is a Fishamble production and they have another show currently on tour that I am looking forward to seeing. Guaranteed! had a short run last summer when it played to packed theatres and was followed by passionate post-show discussions. This is Colin Murphy’s imagining of what happened on the night of the bank guarantee. Michael D Higgins said “I think people should come and view it. It’s very, very good.” He’s the president, I think we should do what he says. It’s playing in venues all over the country throughout November and there are more details here.

And for something completely different – those theatrical mavericks from Sheffield Forced Entertainment are in the Project next week (Thur 21 – Sat 23 November) with a new show called Tomorrow’s Parties. Forced Entertainment shows are usually strange and sometimes a little bit difficult but they are always interesting and I always find something new and wonderful in them. They’re always a little bit different and also very much themselves.