Ireland has one of the richest literary and mythical histories of any country in the world. With this in mind, the resources of Dublin were pooled together and MythFest was born.
It aims to provide a platform for the re-imagining of Ireland's unique and incredibly vibrant allegorical history. The aim is to bring mythology to life and immerse people in the creatures, characters and colours of ancient Irish legend (with a few international nods thrown in for good measure).
A major part of the festival's ethos is to bring art to the people, right in the streets of Dublin. By staging the pieces in outdoor locations across the city, we aim to transform some of Dublin's most beautiful cultural landmarks into 'living spaces', appropriate settings for the contemporary regeneration of our most ancient and beloved literary works.
The festival's main focal point will come in the form of a major new theatre piece, created in collaboration with award-winning Irish writer Shaun Dunne. Shaun is working on a fresh, updated take on the classic Irish myth Deirdre of the Sorrows. This will be accompanied by a full programme of one-act performances from young Dublin-based theatre makers, as well as discussions, spoken word, music, ceilís and a whole lot more.
Many of the events will be held in the purpose-built outdoor auditorium in Trinity's ornate Rose Garden, which will server as the nucleus of the festival. The historical campus, too, will be transformed with installations from local artists.
The festival's ethos is strongly family-orientated and most of the events will be suitable for all ages, with the final day of the festival serving as a dedicated family day, when there'll be a chance to see all the one-acts together, plus a ton of extra stuff for the younglings.
Apart from the headline show all this is completely free. The operation will be based at the box office in Trinity College's elegant Front Square, but tickets will also be available online. Drop by during the festival, or in the days preceding, to find out what's going on, or just keep an eye on the website.
You can also follow Mythfest on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr to keep up to date. For more info and tickets for The Sorrows see MythFest.ie. You can also find the Festival on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as MythFest.
