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festivals · Thursday 24 September 2026 · Various 
Dublin Theatre Festival
At Multiple venues across Dublin · Dublin city centre
At Multiple venues across Dublin · Dublin city centre
Every autumn, Dublin becomes the theatre capital of Europe for a few weeks. The Dublin Theatre Festival - founded in 1957 and now in its seventh decade - runs from late September into October and fills 20 or more venues across the city with new Irish plays, major international touring productions, dance, and experimental work. If you have any interest in live performance, this is one of the best reasons to visit Dublin all year.
The festival draws serious theatergoers from across Ireland and beyond, but it is not an intimidating or elite affair. The programme is broad enough to suit a casual night out as much as a committed theatregoer working through every show. Families are catered for, under-30s and unwaged attendees can access tickets for as little as €10 through the festival’s 10FOR10 scheme, and the sheer variety of what is staged means most visitors will find several things they want to see.
The 2026 edition runs from 24 September to 11 October across more than 20 venues. Two productions anchor the programme. At the Abbey Theatre - Ireland’s national theatre on Lower Abbey Street - Marina Carr’s The Boy is a two-play theatrical event drawing on three ancient Greek myths, directed by the Abbey’s artistic director Caitríona McLaughlin. Over at the Gaiety on South King Street, Druid Theatre Company marks its 50th anniversary with a major new production of Macbeth, directed by Tony Award-winner Garry Hynes and led by Marty Rea and Marie Mullen.
Beyond those flagship shows, expect a full programme at the Gate, Project Arts Centre, Smock Alley, the Olympia, and a handful of smaller fringe spaces. Alongside productions the festival runs artist talks, public discussions, and workshops - so there is often interesting programming in the daytime that costs little or nothing to attend.
Early booking is strongly recommended for the bigger productions. Popular shows at the Abbey and Gaiety regularly sell out well in advance of opening night.
Dublin city centre is well connected by road from every direction, with the M1, M7, M50 and N11 feeding into the city. All the main festival venues are within easy walking distance of each other in the city centre, so once you arrive you can get between shows on foot.
By public transport, Dublin Bus runs frequent services across the city, and the Luas red and green lines stop close to the main venue cluster. If you are coming by train, Connolly and Heuston stations are both well placed. City-centre parking is available in multi-storey car parks off Grafton Street and on Marlborough Street, though spaces fill quickly on weekend evenings, so public transport is the easier option.
The festival gives a ready-made reason to take in the rest of what Dublin has to offer - Temple Bar, the National Gallery, and the quays are all a short walk from the main venues. There is more to see in Dublin and across Co. Dublin.
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