Fringe Lab March Programme - Up Next: PUNCHLINES IN PROGRESS

03 March 2025

This March, FRINGE LAB is serving up a fresh programme to spark ideas, sharpen skills, and bring artists together. Whether you’re after for a few laughs at our Fringe FUSE, fine-tuning how you talk about your work with Cracking Your Creative Biography, or just looking for a chat over coffee at Elevenses, we’ve got something for you.

Come along, get inspired, and connect with your creative community!

UPCOMING

Fringe FUSE: Punch lines In Progress Edition, curated and MCed by Emily Bradley 

Date: Thursday 27th March 2025 
Time: 7.00pm  
Where: The Wild Duck, Sycamore Street   
Tickets: Book your FREE ticket here.

Fringe FUSE: Punchlines in Progress brings together some of Ireland’s most exciting new comedians for our Work-in-Progress showcase, hosted by the unstoppable Emily Bradley. A multidisciplinary artist and comedian, Emily’s performances blur the lines between stand-up, drag, and theatrical storytelling. Nominated for Best Performance at Dublin Fringe Festival 2024, they have wowed audiences from Dublin to Edinburgh. Joining them on stage:

  • Áine Gallagher, the “queen of offbeat” brings her signature bilingual comedy to the stage workshopping Time to Give a Focal. She is proud to be Ireland’s only unqualified, guerrilla Irish language enthusiast.
  • Aoife Dunne, with over 130,000 followers and a meteoric rise through Ireland’s comedy scene, she’s gearing up for her solo show Good Grief this September in The Ambassador Theatre - but first, a few new jokes just for you.
  • Francis Breen, a cult comedian in the making, a one-man Reeves and Mortimer. Francis is bringing his unique blend of stand-up and clowning to the FUSE stage, workshopping his new piece The Ballad of Levi Strauss. 

Fringe FUSE: is presented by FRINGE LAB, Dublin Fringe Festival’s artist support strand. Find out more about our artist supports. 
 

28th March: Elevenses
Against the Clock – Grab a cup of coffee and let’s talk about the challenges (and rewards) of managing your time as a freelance artist! No registration needed, just buzz in.  
Please note, Dublin Fringe offices are accessed by stairs only. 

 

Past Events 

19th March: Cracking Your Creative Biography with David McGovern
Are you in need of a boost to your bio to help you access artistic opportunities? Have you ever struggled to write a short biography – for an application, an opportunity, or an email introducing yourself? Don’t worry, FRINGE LAB has you covered. 

Everyone gets stressed out when writing and talking about themselves and their work. That’s why FRINGE LAB - Dublin Fringe Festival’s year-round artist support strand- is running a workshop with artist and lecturer David McGovern for artists who want to get better at writing about themselves through Creative Biographies.  

Art can be difficult to talk about – especially when you need to wear so many hats to make a living. But it is a skill that’s useful to develop in order to communicate with people about your creative practice. We’re here to help you outline your practice in a clear, accessible way. 

Join David McGovern for an exciting in-person workshop which will cover some practical ways to improve your Creative Biography. This workshop will contain a combination of a presentation from David, and practical group exercises and peer (meaning friendly!) feedback from your fellow artists to put your learning into practice. 

Date: Wednesday 19th March  
Number: For 14 people  
Time: 6.00pm – 8.00pm 
Where: FRINGE LAB, Dublin Fringe Festival HQ , Sycamore Street  

Who is this workshop for: Artists across discipline – visual, music, theatre, dance, multidisciplinary, etc.- but especially emerging artists!  

Please note: All FRINGE LAB workshops are free to attend. Dublin Fringe Festival offices are accessed by stairs. 
 
REGISTER HERE 

This event is supported by the Cultural and Creative Industries Skillnet. CCIS designs, develops and delivers responsive, bespoke, flexible and relevant skills and talent development programmes to address the ongoing needs of the cultural & creative sectors. Find out more on www.creativeskillnet.ie

A man seated at a desk, focused on his computer screen, with a professional workspace in the background.

David McGovern is a multidisciplinary artist and educator. Working with performance, moving image and text, he makes work that explores precarious elements of contemporary life: care, desire, the workplace, online behaviour, rejection and replacement. Participation is often part of his practice, having worked with LGBTQ+ non-profit Shoutout and Rialto Youth Project. His writing has been published in The Stinging Fly and Fourteen Poems, with an upcoming non-fiction essay in Holy Show in Summer 2025. David is a recipient of the Arts Council of Ireland’s Next Generation Award. www.davidm.tv 

A person in a pink jumpsuit poses on a chair

Emily Bradley is a multidisciplinary artist and comedian who’s known for their electric on-stage presence. Emily was honoured to be nominated for the best performance award at the Dublin Fringe 2024. They have captivated audiences at the Paddy Power Comedy Festival, as well as in Leicester, Nottingham, Edinburgh and beyond. Their performances often playful, subversive, and deeply engaged with themes of gender have earned them recognition across comedy and performance art spaces. With a bold approach that blurs boundaries between stand-up, drag, and theatrical storytelling, Emily continues to push the limits of gender performance and comedy.