Panti Bliss And Tara Flynn to Go Back-to-back In A Double Bill Of Two Brand new Shows At The Abbey Theatre

THISISPOPBABY return to the stage hot off the heels after a sell-out run of their hit show WAKE at the National Stadium, to create two incendiary new shows for the national theatre. Teaming up with two of Ireland's comedic giants, performance legends and bona fide national treasures, Panti Bliss and Tara Flynn go back-to-back with two solo shows in one hilarious and moving night out. Ripping up the Abbey Theatre's Peacock stage this November is a soaring double bill from these celebrated artists who have both contributed to Ireland's extraordinary recent social change and brought down the houses over the years with their smash hit shows.

IF THESE WIGS COULD TALK is written and performed by Queen of Ireland, Panti Bliss. Over seven years since Pantigate, Ireland's Marriage Equality Referendum, and the international smash hit High Heels In Low Places, Panti is shaking out her oversized wigs and re-boning her corset to bring her unique brand of ridiculous anecdotes to the Peacock stage.

If These Wigs Could Talk meets Panti, a drag queen at 53, after a lifetime of showbiz, shenanigans and making a show of herself, taking this moment to question what her purpose and place in the world is now. Via salacious stories, impassioned polemics, some seriously funny soul searching and a few unvarnished truths, Panti takes us from rural Mayo to London's glittering West End to the Ambassador's residence in Vienna, where along the way the answer to her question presents itself when she least expects it. Panti warmly invites you to learn from her mistakes, laugh at her failures and revel in her triumphs.

HAUNTED is by "fame-adjacent" actor turned advocate for the campaign to Repeal Ireland's 8th amendment (you know, 'mouthy') - Tara Flynn. After the country voted Yes in 2018 and the whirlwind of publicity and abuse died down, Tara finds herself crashing down to the floor searching for her marbles. Down there, she realises the whirlwind has conveniently kept her from dealing with the death of her dad. Nothing for it now but to face it. All of it!

Following on from the success of Not a Funny Word (2018), Haunted is an extraordinary, moving and funny tale of grief, campaigning for civil rights, the offline impact of online abuse and fighting to tell your own story. It's a story of resilience... and a search for marbles!

"Essential viewing, and a joy to watch" - The Irish Times [on Not A Funny Word]

Both shows are directed by Phillip McMahon, long time collaborator of both Panti and Tara Flynn and co-director of THISISPOPBABY's recent smash hit, WAKE.

This double bill presentation with the Abbey Theatre will close off an incredible 15-year anniversary year from theatre renegades THISISPOPBABY after their back to back successes of SHIT by Patricia Cornelius, Directed by Jennifer Jennings (March), Party Scene by Philip Connaughton & Phillip McMahon (June) and WAKE by Jennifer Jennings, Phillip McMahon and Niall Sweeney (September).

Panti Bliss' If These Wigs Could Talk and Tara Flynn's Haunted are two unmissable new theatre shows playing at the Abbey Theatre this November for a limited run only. Tickets are available for each show individually from €18, and for both shows as a bundle on the same night from €29.

CREATIVE TEAM (If These Wigs Could Talk):

Written & Performed by Panti Bliss

Directed by Phillip McMahon

Set Design by Molly O'Cathain

Costume Design by James David Seaver

Lighting Design by Sinéad McKenna

Sound Design by Jenny O'Malley

Produced by Jennifer Jennings and Laura Rigney

Graphic Design by Niall Sweeney, Pony Ltd

Publicity Image by Patricio Cassinoni

CREATIVE TEAM (Haunted):

Written & Performed by Tara Flynn

Directed by Phillip McMahon

Set Design & Costume by Molly O'Cathain

Lighting Design by Sinéad McKenna

Sound Design by Jenny O'Malley

Produced by Jennifer Jennings and Laura Rigney

Graphic Design by Niall Sweeney, Pony Ltd

Publicity Image by Patricio Cassinoni

ABOUT: THISISPOPBABY

For fifteen years, THISISPOPBABY has been ripping up the space between popular culture, counterculture and high art, providing vehicles for our associate artists' dreams and exhilarating access points to the arts for diverse audiences. Our shows have played
 to 275,000 people (and counting) around Ireland, the UK, Australia and beyond, winning major theatre awards and thrilling audiences.

THISISPOPBABY has just set the city alight with their smash-hit, critically acclaimed show WAKE, playing to over 7000 in The National Stadium as part of Dublin Fringe 2022.

Other recent highlights include: Winning Best New Play for Conversations After Sex by Mark O'Halloran (Irish Theatre Awards 2022); Winning Best Production (Dublin Fringe Festival 2016) and touring the world with RIOT; a sold-out world tour and acommpanying film of Panti's High Heels in Low Places in 2015; Where We Live Festival in 2018 as part of St Patrick's Festival, a highlight of which was Tara Flynn's acclaimed Not A Funny Word.

ABOUT: The Abbey Theatre

As Ireland's national theatre, the Abbey Theatre's ambition is to enrich the cultural lives of everyone with a curiosity for and interest in Irish theatre, stories, artists and culture. Courage and imagination is at the heart of our storytelling, while inclusivity, diversity and equality are at the core of our thinking. Our art celebrates both the rich canon of Irish dramatic writing and the potential of generations of Irish theatre artists to come.

ABOUT: Tara Flynn

Tara works extensively as an actor, writer and voice artist in theatre, radio and TV.

Her one woman show Not A Funny Word (produced by THISISPOPBABY in association with the Abbey Theatre) played to sold-out crowds. Her new show with the team, Haunted, will be presented at the Peacock in late 2022.

A popular MC, she was a core member of Dublin Comedy Improv for many years. She was Grand Marshal of Ireland's 2021 St. Patrick's Day Virtual Festival, SPFTV.

TV includes Moone Boy, Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle and Line of Duty. Irish '90s kids will recognise her as one of the voices of Molly from The Morbegs. She recently appeared in Irish features My Sailor, My Love and Aisha.

Tara is the author of three books: Rage-In (Mercier Press), You're Grand and Giving Out Yards (Hachette Ireland).

She was a vocal campaigner for reproductive rights and the repeal of Ireland's 8th amendment. She has hosted two series of the award-nominated Between Ourselves with Marian Keyes and their current comedy problem-solving podcast Now You're Asking With Marian Keyes and Tara Flynn for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Tara lives in Dublin with her husband Carl.

ABOUT: Panti Bliss

Panti Bliss is a writer, performer, pub landlady, "gender discombobulist" and "accidental activist," and has been a fixture of Ireland's gay community since the late 80's.

She played a central role in the campaign for marriage equality in Ireland, and in 2014, a speech she made in the Abbey Theatre about oppression and what it is to be LGBTI+ in Ireland became an international sensation. It was lauded as one of the world's great speeches, put to music by Pet Shop Boys, and turned her into an iconic figure for equality in Ireland.

Panti has written and performed five one-woman shows which have toured extensively across Ireland, the UK, Europe, the US and Australia, and was in the cast of the acclaimed show Riot. Her memoir Woman In The Making was published by Hachette in 2014, and she was the subject of a major documentary in 2015 called The Queen Of Ireland. Her plaudits include a Person Of The Year Award and an honorary doctorate from Trinity College Dublin.

Panti continues to tour internationally with her live shows, has presented an award-winning radio show - Pantisocracy - on RTE for a number of years, is much in demand as a public speaker, and also travels extensively on behalf of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Irish Aid.

She is much in demand at home and abroad as a speaker and activist. Panti is also the landlady of her popular Dublin bar, Pantibar, which opened in 2007 0 and lives in Dublin with a dog, a cat, and the current Mr Bliss.

ABOUT: Phillip McMahon

Phillip McMahon is a playwright and director based in Dublin.

Writing credits include Once Before I Go, Come On Home, Town Is Dead, Alice In Funderland, Pineapple, Elevator, Investment Potential, All Over Town and Danny & Chantelle (still here).

Directing credits include WAKE & RIOT (co-directed with Jennifer Jennings for THISISPOPBABY), Straight to Video andDublin Oldschool by Emmet Kirwan, Insane Animals (HOME Manchester), Not A Funny Word by Tara Flynn and Moneyby Peter Daly. He has made and toured a number of smash hit shows with long time collaborator, drag superstar Panti, and was co-producer and co-writer on Conor Horgan's esteemed documentary The Queen of Ireland for Blinder Films. Philip co-created a new dance work, Party Scene, with choreographer Philip Connaughton in June 2022.

Phillip is co-founder and co-director of theatre production company THISISPOPBABY, wherein he was co-creator and co-curator of the THISISPOPBABY performance venue at Electric Picnic Music and Arts Festival, Queer Notions cross arts festival, WERK Performance/Art/Club and Where We Live festival of performance and ideas.

He was a former Writer In Association at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. He is currently Artistic Associate at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, London, and is Research Fellow at the Birkbeck Centre for Contemporary Theatre, London.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS:

Abbey Theatre, Peacock stage

Previews: Friday 11, Saturday 12 November @ 7.00pm (Haunted) / @9.15pm (If These Wigs Could Talk) / Tickets €18 (Single show) / €29 (both show package)

Opens: Tuesday 15 November @ 7.00pm (Haunted) / @9.15pm (If These Wigs Could Talk) / Tickets €25 (Single show)/ €40 (Both show package)

Runs: until Saturday 3 December @ 7.00pm (Haunted) / @9.15pm (If These Wigs Could Talk) / Tickets €25 (Single show) / €40 (Both show package)

Matinees: Saturday 19 November & Saturday 3 December (If These Wigs Could Talk) // Saturday 26 November (Haunted) / Tickets €29 (preview)

Abbey Theatre Box Office - Tel: 01 8787 222 / https://www.abbeytheatre.ie/whats-on/haunted-if-these-wigs-could-talk/

*Running times: 1 hour each show, approx.

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