Dublin Fringe Festival runs from Saturday 5 to Sunday 20 September 2026, sixteen days of theatre, comedy, dance, cabaret and live art in venues across the city. The festival does not run a queer strand as such, but several shows put queer and trans lives at their centre, and the first of them plays the night before the festival officially opens.
- Lesbian Death Bed by King, 4 September at 21:00, Project Arts Centre, Space Upstairs. A late-night bill of drag kings, dancers, DJs and queer performance, co-commissioned by the festival and the venue. Tickets are 25 euro, 23 concession, and include the club night that follows. Ninety minutes plus the after party, and it contains nudity.
- Suplex by Jaxbanded Theatre, 6 to 11 September at Dublin Municipal Theatre at Smock Alley, the Black Box. Danu is a trans woman trying to get on in wrestling, a sport that does not love her back. 18 euro, 16 concession, 14 for the preview on 6 September. Seventy minutes.
- The Politics of Disgust by Play Not Funny, 8 to 13 September at Bewley's Cafe Theatre. Drag theatre staged as an emergency HR meeting. 17 euro, 15 concession, 13 for the preview on 8 September. Sixty minutes.
- Ho'cial Club by Red Umbrella Eireann, 11 September at 20:00, doors 19:30, at DV8 Bar and Venue. Pole, drag and cabaret performers on sex worker rights and decriminalisation. 20 euro, 18 concession, and it contains nudity.
- Butch by Crithir Productions, 16 to 19 September at Smock Alley, the Boys' School. A one-woman lecture performance on gender non-conformity and where a butch lesbian fits in queer history. 18 euro, 16 concession, 14 for the preview on 16 September. Seventy-five minutes.
- Saoirse by An Taibhdhearc, 16 to 19 September, co-presented with the Abbey Theatre. A new Irish-language musical about a first summer of freedom in the Gaeltacht, which GCN counts among the festival's queer work. Performed in Irish with English access through the Sibrwd app, and interpreted into Irish Sign Language on 19 September at 20:00.
- Miss Powder Vacuum 2026 by Bill Harris, 18 September at 19:30, doors 19:00, at the Douglas Hyde Gallery of Contemporary Art. A drag pageant judged on evening wear and talent, three hours long, free but booking is required.
Booking and getting in
Tickets go through the festival box office, by email at boxoffice@fringefest.com or on 1800 374 643, and the festival publishes an access, affordability and inclusion guide alongside the programme. Previews are the cheapest performances of any run, and in three of the shows above they fall on the opening night. Several of the late-night events carry warnings for nudity, strobe lighting and loud music.
The rest of the week
The festival venues sit in the middle of Dublin, which is also where the bars stay open after the curtain. We list The George on South Great George's Street, Street 66 on Parliament Street, PantiBar on Capel Street and Stage Door Cafe on Essex Street East, along with eight more places in the city on our Ireland page.
