The Scene + Heard Festival in Smock Alley

Oscar wins, Grammy nominations and Booker prizes – the Irish art scene is thriving at the top, and hopefully will not slow down anytime soon.  

But where does it all start? It’s down to actors, musicians, and artists to be comfortable expressing their art to Irish audiences. 

Whether its young guns trying to catch the attention of their first crowd or experienced artists testing out a new concept, the community of Irish artists needs a stage to express themselves.  

The Scene + Heard festival runs from last Thursday, the 13th, to March 1st in the Smock Alley Theatre, near the quays on the edge of the Liberties. The festival is something like a birthplace of the Irish arts scene.  

Festival performances include comedy, dance, theatre, and visual arts. The most popular shows tend to be a mix between theatre and comedy.  

The festival was first established in 2016 by Caoimhe Connolly and Clíona Dukes, who were managing the reopening of the Smock Alley Theatre at the time.  

With Connolly and Dukes having parents in the industry and a shared interest in the arts from a young age, they decided that the Irish art scene needed to change. “We wanted to dispel notions of elitism in theatre and make it welcoming, entertaining and accessible for audiences,” said Connolly. 

Connolly explained that the main goal of this festival is “two-pronged”. 

“The goal is to nurture new art and guide artists through the process practically in an accessible, warm and encouraging way. It’s also about involving the audience in the creation of that art,” said Connolly.  

The audience is seen as an essential tool for shaping the development of these artists on stage. Members of the crowd are encouraged to give feedback through in-person secret ballots, Q&A, and social media. These comments are then shown to performers.  

This allows the audience to help shape the Irish arts scene’s future directly.  

Dhruv Gandhi is a stand-up comedian performing his act, As an Immigrant, I Love Ireland, in the hopes of announcing himself through the Scene + Heard festival. 

Gandhi’s performance aims, he says, “to find the common ground we all share while celebrating our unique quirks by using comedy”. 

Gandhi says he appreciates the festival’s commitment to helping him achieve this.  

“For artists like me, who might not easily make connections, this is invaluable. The festival’s support, through mentorship, workshops, and networking, helps cultivate a diverse, inclusive arts community and nurtures creativity and growth.” 

Artists of all ages are involved in Scene + Heard, but young artists are its bread and butter.

“For many, like myself, it is one of the first tastes of the world of dramatic production to its full extent,” says Gavin Jennings, a student at Trinity College, who is cast in Micheal Lucey’s play Immolation Papers – set to take the stage on the festival’s closing weekend.  

“Having a show in the festival is a big step and has been the launchpad for many up-and-coming artists in recent years,” Jennings says. 

Stand-up comedian Warren McIntyre said that this festival “acts as a launchpad for entry into bigger festivals like the Dublin Fringe or, ultimately, the International Fringe Festival in Edinburgh”. 

The festival is expected to seat an audience of over 9,000 people throughout, viewing 110 shows . Connolly says they have big plans for next year’s festival, which is their tenth anniversary and will be generously funded by the Dublin City Council and the Arts Council of Ireland.