The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir. During their first season, they presented seven plays, including Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape and Wilde’s Salomé. Their productions were innovative and experimental and they offered Dublin audiences an introduction to the world of European and American theatre and also to classics from the modern and Irish repertoire. It was at the Gate that Orson Welles, James Mason, Geraldine FitzGerald and Michael Gambon began their prodigious acting careers. The company played for two seasons at the Peacock Theatre and then on Christmas Eve 1929, in Groome’s Hotel, the lease was signed for the 18th Century Rotunda Annex – the ‘Upper Concert Hall’, the Gate’s present home, with Goethe’s Faust opening on 17th February 1930.

In 1931 the newly established Gate ran into financial difficulties and Lord (Edward) and Lady(Christine) Longford provided financial support. The Longford’s worked with Edwards and MacLiammóir at the Gate until 1936, then a split developed and two separate companies were formed and played at the Gate for six months each and toured for six months until the death of Lord Longford in 1961.During this period Edwards and MacLiammóir (Gate Theatre Productions) ran shows in Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre and toured productions to Europe, Egypt and North America.

In 1983, Michael Colgan became Director of the Gate and during his 33 year reign he produced many high quality award-winning plays. Many of these have been seen throughout the world from Beijing to New York. Under his stewardship, the Gate established unique relationships with leading contemporary playwrights including Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter and Brian Friel. He produced the first ever Beckett Festival, presenting all 19 of the stage plays over three weeks. He also produced the first ever festival of Pinter’s plays and many premieres and productions of Friel’s work including the acclaimed production of Faith Healer with Ralph Fiennes which won a Tony Award on Broadway. During his time, the fabric of the building was restored and renovated under the guidance of Ronnie Tallon and Scott, Tallon Walker Architects. This included the provision of a new wing, which incorporates a space to be used for rehearsals, workshops, offering practitioners an opportunity to develop and nurture creativity.

On 3rd April 2017, Selina Cartmell became Director of the Gate. As a freelance artist, she has directed a diverse range of work from Greek tragedy and Shakespeare, to international work and contemporary Irish drama. In 2004, she established Dublin based Siren Productions, a multi-award winning company conceived to innovate the classics and create relevant and dynamic new work, integrating theatre, dance, visual arts, architecture, film and music. Her productions have been nominated for thirty five theatre awards, winning ten, including three for best director. She directed three award-winning productions for the Gate Catastrophe, Festen and Sweeney Todd, described in the Guardian as ‘a new dawn for the theatre’. Her inaugural season at the Gate begins on 12th July, 2017.

Local

Eat and Drink

• The Parnell Heritage bar & grill - Dublin (0.1 miles) - The Parnell heritage bar is split into three floors, each with its own personality! Our heritage lou...
• Madigan's Pub Earl Street - Dublin 1 (0.2 miles) - Renowned Watering Hole of Literary Giants such as Joyce, Behan and Kavanagh. A Traditional Irish Pub...
• Woolshed Baa & Grill - Dublin 1 (0.3 miles) - As the name suggests we are a sports bar with the flavour of the Southern Hemisphere, (without the w...
• Bleecker Street Cafe Bar - dublin (0.3 miles) - We have the best food around and an atmosphere to match. Located on Upper Dorset Street, in the heart...
• Madigan's Pub Abbey Street - Dublin 1 (0.3 miles) - Madigan's No.4 Lower Abbey Street is a cosy, comfortable and relaxing Traditional Irish Pub. You...

See and Do

• Gate Theatre Dublin 1 (0.0 miles) - The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir. During their first...
• Olivier Cornet Gallery Dublin (0.2 miles) - Located at 3 Great Denmark Street in the Parnell Square Cultural Quarter, the heart of Georgian Dubl...
• City Sightseeing Dublin Dublin (0.2 miles) - Join the hop on hop off City Sightseeing Dublin Tour and let our witty live guides show you the best...
• Wicklow Mountains Tour Dublin (0.2 miles) - Pack a lifetime of memories into one day onboard the Wicklow Mountains Tour. See Wicklow’s top nat...
• Dublin Sightseeing hop on hop off tours Dublin (0.2 miles) - Unlock Dublin’s best attractions with a 48 hour Hop-on Hop-off bus tour with the Dublin’s famous...

Shopping

• Jameson Distillery Bow St. - Dublin City (0.6 miles) - Since John Jameson’s brave first steps into this building in 1780, we’ve been focused on his amb...
• Fallon & Byrne - Dublin (0.7 miles) - Fallon & Byrne opened its doors on Exchequer Street, Dublin 2 in 2006 and within months had establis...
• Designyard - Dublin 2 (0.8 miles) - DesignYard opened its doors in 1994 in Dublin, Ireland. Since then we have worked hard to become Ire...
• Cleo Ltd - Dublin 2 (1.0 miles) - We specialise in Irish clothing made from natural fibres. We sell handknit sweaters in a variety of ...