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Years of
Making Magic
Celebrating four decades of great ensembles, ground-breaking initiatives, ambitious writing, partnerships and fun.
Where we started
Rough Magic began in the summer of 1984, as an eclectic collective of seven – 4 actors, 2 directors and a producer, staging 9 shows within our first year and establishing an essential, unmistakeable voice in Irish theatre.
1980s
One of the first companies to bring major international contemporary work to audiences in Ireland
1990s
Commissioning writers began in 1990. Rough Magic expanded out of Ireland to London, Edinburgh, New York and more
2001
Launch of the Pioneering SEEDS Programme
2004
Improbable Frequency is the hit of the Dublin Theatre Festival and establishes a new way of writing an Irish musical
2018
Re-establishing the major ensemble work that characterises the company
2020s
COMPASS launches partnerships and commissions across the country
Where we are now
Still growing artists, still making plays across the spectrum of scale - with work that is expansive, playful, and whatever its form, focused on the moment. Rough Magic provides an unexpected angle to the mainstream and an anchor to the emerging generation.
More than
New Productions
Including
Irish Premieres and counting
World Premieres and counting
Worked with more than
Artists and Technicians
Fostering new relationships with theatres across the world
We’ve won awards
1 Heidelberger Stückemarkt Award
1 Heidelberger Stückemarkt Award
1 Heidelberger Stückemarkt Award
1 Heidelberger Stückemarkt Award
And hold the record for The Irish Times Best Production Awards
Copenhagen
2003
Irish Times Theatre Awards
Improbable Frequency
Best Production 2004
Irish Times Theatre Awards
The Taming of the Shrew,
2006
Irish Times Theatre Awards
Don Carlos
2007
Irish Times Theatre Awards
In 2001 we launched a pioneering artist development programme
Seek out
Encourage
participants on our SEEDS programme
Enable
Develop
of participants are still working professionally in the arts