9 Best Performing Arts in Dublin, Ireland

One of the most fabled theaters in the world, the Abbey is the home of Ireland's national theater company. In 1904 W. B. Yeats and his patron, Lady Gregory, opened the theater, which became a major center for the Irish literary renaissance—the place that first staged works by J. M. Synge and Sean O'Casey, among many others. Plays by recent Irish drama heavyweights like Brian Friel, Tom Murphy, Hugh Leonard, and John B. Keane have all premiered here, and memorable productions of international greats like Mamet, Ibsen, and Shakespeare have also been performed. You should not, however, arrive expecting 19th-century grandeur: the original structure burned down in 1951. A starkly modernist auditorium was built in its place—but what it may lack in aesthetics it makes up for in space and acoustics. Criticisms of a reverential, male, and mainstream approach are being addressed, with more female writers, a new spin on old Irish classics, and a second stage offering more experimental drama. But the Abbey will always be relevant since much of the theatergoing public still looks to it as a barometer of Irish culture.

When this shimmering red-and-gold 19th-century theater is not showing musical comedy, drama, and revues, the sumptuous Gaiety is taken over by Opera Ireland for one of its big shows.

Housed in a brash, Daniel Libeskind–designed building in the growing docklands area of the city, this theater has a 2,000-plus capacity, making it Ireland's biggest theater space. Its calendar includes the best of international ballet, classical music, pop gigs, and even Broadway musicals.

An intimate 371-seat theater in a jewel-like Georgian assembly hall, the Gate produces the classics and contemporary plays by leading Irish writers, including Beckett, Wilde (the production of Salome was a worldwide hit), Shaw, and the younger generation of dramatists, such as Conor McPherson.

Dublin's oldest and premier multipurpose theatrical venue, the Olympia hosts drama, pantomime, and live comedy in addition to its high-profile musical performances.

A theater and performance space in an ugly modern building at the center of Temple Bar, the Project Arts Center premiers a lot of new Irish theater talent as well as contemporary music and experimental art events.

Home to Trinity College's drama department and the student Players group, as well as visiting European companies, the Samuel Beckett Centre also hosts dance performances by visiting troupes; the theater was built in 1992 and stands near the center of Trinity's campus.

Smock Alley is a wonderfully atmospheric theater space tucked down a little lane. Now housed in a lovely 19th-century Irish neo-Gothic structure, it stands on the site of a famous 17th-century Dublin theater.

A troupe with a political agenda, the New Theatre often favors productions by Irish working-class writers like Sean O'Casey and Brendan Behan in its renovated Temple Bar space.