Performance
It Was Paradise, Unfortunately

As part of Fringe Festival Dublin

Mon, 09.09.2024 -
Sat, 14.09.2024
7:00 PM Goethe-Institut Irland

Nowadays all the theatres talk about including trans people. You can’t include us in your theatre because you stole it from us. And then you stripped it of all its magic and meaning and function and holiness. It’s time for us to take it back. - Raphaël Amahl Khouri

In It Was Paradise, Unfortunately, Jordanian trans playwright Raphaël Amahl Khouri and Greek visual artist Myrto Stampoulou explore the radical, queer, and intersectional origins of Western Theatre.

Several times a year, the entire ­­Western world and beyond would come together to celebrate Dionysos, the transgender god of theatre. Thousands of people gathered for these week-long celebrations which saw patrirchal norms turned on their head. Enslaved people were emancipated, women were liberated, and the citizens fearcly competed in tragedies and comedies. It was a radical social intervention, and the birth of western theatre.
So where did it all go wrong?

Using his training as a journalist, Raphaël makes an extraordinary, ground-breaking discovery, offering a bold and inclusive new vision for theatre artists and audiences in the 21st century.  Produced by the Collective and commissioned by Outburst Arts, It Was Paradise, Unfortunately combines autobiographical performance, live scenography, and action figures.  Performed by Raphaël and his designer/collaborator Myrto Stampoulou, the play features two intertwining stories: Raphaël's evolution as an actor, director, and playwright and his three-year investigation into the mystery of Dionysos.

Book your tickets here.

It Was Paradise, Unfortunately is a ”mesmerising exploration of the ‘god of theatre’ … we leave the venue with something tangible to help us grow” - Alan of Belfast

Proudly supported by Goethe-Institut Irland, supported by The Arts Council and Nebula Fund.