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The Arts Council Playography Na Gaeilge

Frequently Asked Questions

Please find a list of questions below relating to the use of PLAYOGRAPHYIreland.

How do I search for a play?

You can search for a play a number of different ways. You should use the Simple Search function if you know the play title and/or author’s name. Use the Advanced Search if you have more detailed information about the play you are searching or if you cannot recall the title or author but perhaps know the venue, year it was premiered or who produced it. Please visit our Search Tips page for further information on using the various search functions.

I want to find someone other than a playwright, is it possible to do this?

Yes, you can use the People Search. PLAYOGRAPHYIreland contains information on which actors, directors, producers, designers, stage managers, technicians and many other individuals that worked on premiere productions of new Irish plays in both English and Irish.

Can I find the performance rights information for plays listed?

Yes. Performance rights for many of the plays are shown in the side bar column on the right of the play listing page. It has not been possible to provide rights information for every play listed but research continues on this area of the database. If you have information regarding the rights holder of any of the plays listed we would be pleased to hear from you.

I can only find information on one production of a play even though it has been produced many times in the past 50 years – why is it not in the database?

PLAYOGRAPHYIreland is a catalogue of all new Irish plays produced in English and in Irish since 1904 and 1901 respectively. Therefore, it contains an entry for the premiere production of each of these new plays only but not for all subsequent productions. There is just one entry for each original play although there may be more than one entry for plays that have been translated or adapted by a number of Irish writers e.g. House of Bernarda Alba which has four entries by four different writers.

I have further information on a play listed in PLAYOGRAPHYIreland, what should I do? 

Please contact us. Where gaps exist in the information provided, we invite users with knowledge of the missing information to email us at playography@irishtheatreinstitute.ie. We are particularly anxious to hear from writers or other rights’ holders who we have not yet located.

I would like further information on a play listed, what should I do? 

Irish Theatre Institute has published all the information it has gathered on the PLAYOGRAPHYIreland website. Please contact us as we welcome enquires and can assist with some individual requests for additional information but may not be in a position to meet the needs of all requests.

Does Irish Theatre Institute have an archive I can visit?

No, Irish Theatre Institute does not have a physical archive. We can, however, point you in the direction of other archives holding materials on Irish plays and playwrights. Please contact us at playography@irishtheatreinstitute.ie.