The Gaiety Theatre

Still one of the good theatre’s around. It isn’t too expensive which is great. € 43 for the best seats which isn’t too bad for a lovely night out. Comparing this to the grand cancel which can be upto € 70.
I have just been to driving miss daisy there which was good but setting could have been better. They used a table and chair as the car but surely they could have used their imagination a bit better.
Beautiful theatre with gorgeous chandeliers. Although wouldn’t want one falling on top of me as I sat below it.
The place could do with a bit of a touch up as a bit shabby but it adds character I suppose.

I love going to the theatre and sneaking into an afternoon matinée or getting all dressed up for an evening out, an outing to the Gaiety is always a treat. From serious plays to comedies, Riverdance to the ballet, there’s something here for everyone.
Plush seats, a sparkling chandelier, and, if you’re lucky, seat upgrades (my last visit I got to sit right near the action, despite having bought a seat «up in the gods»
Plus, for anyone who objects to having to fork out for booking fees, just pop into the box office to purchase for your ticket the actual value.

This place is an institution by St Stephen’s Green. Small little theatre and vintage décor complete with red velvet seats and gold-​trimmed velvet curtains. We came to see the opening night of this season’s Riverdance and loved it. The show was so energetic and powerful, made even more so by the intimacy of the venue. You could FEEL the vibrations of the dancers’ footsteps.
Tip: do check the prices for the private boxes if you have a small group (I think the boxes seat between 2 – 5 people each). I was going to buy us tickets for the dress circle, but a private box for four actually worked out to € 1 cheaper per person and the view was great. We had tons of leg room then as well!

Just saw The Field in a restricted view seat and it was a lovely night out. The theatre is beautiful inside and full of charm. I love that you can eat popcorn while watching a play! I sat in the middle bit and there was a pole that blocked my view of the stage but not significantly. I was still able to get lost in the drama and my ticket was a good price!

The Gaiety has really lost its way over the years. It it typical of the place, as my drama teacher used to say, that people go to the theatre to get dressed in their Sunday best and eat chocolates. Nothing inherently wrong with that, but I go to the theatre to take an active interest. Never thought I’d use Kurt Cobain’s line «Here we are now, entertain us» about somewhere so old-​school. The décor and layout is of course beautiful, but you are not stepping back in time and feeling like you are in a prohibition era speakeasy. Rather, there is a mood of being trapped in a dated and rather tired and rusty place, reflected in the shows they put on. I know I am not their targeted demographic, having little interest in Riverdance (oh jesus), panto (not a kid any more and don’t have any yet to bring) or tribute acts of legends long departed. But even the straight plays they have are pretty woeful. I had to review a teeth-​clenchingly bad Agatha Chrisie murder mystery one (you could see whodunnit from the start) by an English company on tour, and myself and I friend got free tickets to a «biopic» of Houdini that was so badly written I was scarlet for them, and had actors who were previously on TV and films but was evident they had little to no stage experience.
Plays I did like were during a run of Dear Frankie (jaysus, there were some coffin dodgers present) and a brilliantly sinister production of The Beauty Queen of Leenane.
As others say, the seats have little leg room and you often strain to see the stage. It may be an iconic venue but it really needs to reboot itself somewhat.
It is where I first started sulkily reviewing theatre at the age of ten though. Seeing a panto production for the umpteenth time, I looked at it, bored, and thought «I could do better than that»

Grand old dame, still hanging around, looking great. Each time I come in here, I’m slightly taken aback by just how ostentatiously lovely this place is. All gold and red velvet and opulent detailing. Where did they get the money to build it back in the day?!!
It’s got a lot else going for it too — proximity to every eatery you could possibly imagine for pre-​theatre nosh, and every pub you could possibly imagine for post-​theatre dissection.
They tend to have a pretty good range of shows which is really cool too. The only couple of things that let it down in my opinion are the seat sizes — they’re hugely squashy — I had trouble keeping comfortable with the serious lack of leg room throughout the play (and I’m 5′ 4″!) The other thing is the price of refreshments in there — they don’t seem to have been adjusted since Celtic Tiger Land!

Lovely place. 100% recommend to visit at least once. You can read how great it is in other reviews, but I’ll focus on what’s bad.
Major thing to avoid is RESTRICTED VIEW seat. I bought them by accident paying too less of attention. My own fault.
Just be aware of really bad seat that are marked.
See my pictures to see how bad it is.

The Woman in Black — Review
I hope this is still on, otherwise the review is kinda pointless. Meh…
Really good show, of course I wasn’t scared at all-​but some of the other children were. No, while everyone else was jumping out of their seats or tittering nervously, I was thinking about the play’s interesting structural variation.
Normally, you see *strokes beard*, the play within the play is used as a sort of comic aside. A ‘C’ story if you will, it works as a breather for the audience. However in this play, the main play (that is the narrative set in the present, granted; a period present. But still more present than the secondary narrative, which is actually the larger narrative, which is set in the past tense) is actually the shorter of the two play’s. And of a significantly lower dramatic intensity. It is the main play that acts as the breather.
Then how, you ask (foolishly, for I am about to tell you anyway) is the main play not the minor play-​and vice versa. Well, because it is through the main play (the shorter one) that the characters grow and change. While the play within this play certainly provides more bumps and jumps, it offers less space for the characters to grow. And whether you like it or not-that’s what audiences really care about. Hence the reason why Danny Glover is actually the main character in Lethal Weapon.
So yeah, basically, while everyone else was watching the play I was nerding out on structural theory.
I wasn’t scared neither.

If you want a guilt free, fun filled night out, you won’t go far wrong with a visit to The Rat Pack show in the Gaeity.
Stephen Triffitt, Mark Adams and George Long are superb in their respective roles of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr performing at the height of their powers, from the Sands Hotel, Las Vegas. This is a true case of ‘suspense of belief’ as the three leads, ably assisted by the Sands’ Orchestra and the Burelli Sisters. Unfortunately, the show ends tonight

Even though the bartender at Dandelion (a club around the corner) told us that Riverdance was as cliché as it could get, we loved this show at The Gaiety Theater. It was an excellent production with brilliant dancers as well as musicians. Even the «a cappela» numbers that were sung on stage were very well done. They were made up of intricate harmonies and ethereal voices. The dancers are amazing and they seemed so proud to be on stage. Bravo! The theater itself is very nice and well kept. Bravo for that too.
And, as far as the bartender’s comments before the show – nonsense.sheer nonsense.

I love this theatre! It’s a great location, in the heart of Dublin. It’s small and intimate so as far as I could see not a bad seat in the house. I love the huge chandelier above the audience and the plush red velvet seats.

Un teatro precioso, grande, céntrico, la verdad es que da gusto ir allí de vez en cuando a disfrutar de una buena obra de teatro, bien sea musical, teatro en sí, un concierto, etc, etc.
Además, está ubicado justo al lado de St. Stephens Green parque y centro comercial, lo que hace que ya no sólo el momento del teatro en sí sea bueno, sino que la tarde en su conjunto sea muy agradable.

Having been here for the Panto’s for the last 14 years, with a social group, I have to say I do like it’s layout.
For our social group, who might not be as able-​bodied or thinking as others, the location and layout, along with the great panto’s, works perfectly.
However, considering I have been here that many years, I had never been here on my own (or with a small group) but that all changed.
I had the opportunity to go and see Improbable Frequency the other week and got to see the Theatre as a patron and I must say it actually is a very nice place, the staff were helpful (though I already knew this from the Panto group).
Is the production, which makes your visit better, down to the venue or the company producing? If it’s down to the venue, then this definitely a venue worth watching plays in.
Going back to groups & families. Seeing how the staff deal with our group, and families around us, I would give them 5 stars. They are very helpful and informative.

Gaiety theatre is one of my fav… Small looking from the outside but a different story once you get in… Always guaranteed a great night out no matter what’s on…

It’s hard to believe that I never have been in this famed Dublin landmark until last week!
I went to see a play from the Dublin Theatre Festival. It really is old world in there and the old furnishing give it that classic period feel.
The bar area is very big too and impressive. I think for the most part they tend to show more main stream shows but it really is a great experience.

My husband and I went here to see Riverdance. Growing up I used to think it seemed sooo lame. But wow… what an amazing show! The theatre itself was quite lovely with the fancy architecture, red velvet seats and chandelier. However, I think the best part of our evening was listening to a very drunk man outside of the theatre singing «We Didn’t Start the Fire» by Billy Joel. :)

The Gaiety Theatre or the Grand Old Lady as she is called first opened in 1871 and is Dublin’s longest established theatre in continuous production.
Many greats have graced the stage here from Pavarotti to Julie Andrews and to my favourites Twink and Dustin in the Christmas Panto. Of all the Pantos in town The Gaiety is the best, the most traditional and most romantic and old school and gives the best theatrical experience.

I tend to prefer smaller theatres where the interaction between the audience and the actors is more personal, but I have to credit the Gaiety for doing some things right.
I went to the Gaiety for the first time last month to see The Shawshank Redemption and I was impressed both by the performance and by the theatre’s grandiose décor.
The actors in the play were Americans and I recognized a few of them from popular TV series. The acting was good and the scenes were poignant. At one point, I almost cried.
The venue itself was beautiful, reminding me of your typical theatres: red velvet seats and private balconies. A massive chandelier hung from the top of high arched ceiling.
During halftime, the audience was treated to snacks in the bar area. Its windows overlook King Street where people were busy going about their business.
Overall, it was a beautiful afternoon at the Gaiety. It costs close to nothing and the memories will last a lifetime.

The Gaiety offers some old time theatre glamour to your evening out whether you are clubbing, gigging or pantomiming!
The theatre itself is velvety-​red and plush, though maybe its age (138 to be precise) is beginning to show a little. It’s intricately designed and grand, from the boxes to the balcony. The programme is quite a mixed bag — from Chris de Burgh to Riverdance to Chicago — but The Gaiety is arguably most renowned for its annual Christmas panto. Oh no it isn’t, oh yes it is!
These days The Gaiety also offers Dubliners late nights with a twist. With three bars and a good mix of indie, club and ‘big band’ music, it’s a good place to take an undecided group on a Saturday. Just try to hold onto each other, it’s always packed and easy to get lost.

«Five stars?», I hear you say. «Is that not a bit extreme, surely?»
In the normal run of events, you’d be dead right. I’m easy to please, but difficult to impress, but even I have to concede that The Gaiety is the dogs bollocks.
When I say The Gaiety, I’m not really referring to the theatre itself. I’m sure that it puts on wonderful plays — I’m pretty sure that I went to the panto there at least once, and the production of Willy Russell’s ‘Blood Brothers’ that I saw there in 2003 (starring Rebecca Storm) was very enjoyable.
But enough of popular musicals. What makes The Gaiety really special is the night club that runs there. Now, I would normally balk at shelling out 15 beans merely to get in the door of a place, but The Gaiety is one of the few places in Dublin where this is actually justified. The Gaiety has a little bit of something for everyone. There’s one room with a band on, one room with a DJ and dancefloor and (I think) another two bars, and if the notion takes you, you can head into the theatre itself and watch a film. And The Gaiety is one of the few places in Dublin that was actually justified in having a theatre license, so it used to be able to stay open til after four until Cowen decided to turn Ireland into a nanny state (don’t get me started on this off licences closing at ten o’clock bullshit. Vote anyone other than Fianna Fáil in the next elections).
The Gaiety is a bit dressy (well, what I regard as dressy. I own one going-​out shirt, rest of the time I wear a t-​shirt), and the drinks aren’t exactly cheap, so what with that and the € 15 entry, The Gaiety does not for a cheap night make. But it is seriously worth it on a special occasion or whatever to throw on the oul’ suit and blow your paycheck.
Really top spot.

As well as being a theatre that shows crap panto’s, the ocssional Opera and wall to wall Riverdancing. The Gaiety is also a pretty fantastic night club.
Split over three bars dress Bar, plaza Bar and red room. Not sure which is which but the second floor bar usually has live music, and five floors the place really is massive. Which is useful, as even on the busiest night never gets too packed. Special Brew were playing the night I was in, great stuff.
Theres also the very cool feature of the main auditorium being open and showing movies every Saturday. Just think what you can get up to in here.
Unfortunately the hours have been cut back and the days of falling out of the gaiety at five in the morning are well gone and only night a week and at € 15 to get in it is a bit steep.