Ruining The Act

This event has ended

The Complex, Thursday 8th June

Anxiety, people pleasing, going through the motions, existential dread; what do we do to fight and continue putting on the Act? What is it to ruin the act? We’re going to lean into our reflexes. Send in the clowns. Take your money and leave you with nothing or leave you with everything. We know we can’t change the world in an hour, but we’ll try to.

RUINING THE ACT is a dance performance that both questions and celebrates how we, as people, perform. It’s a look inside the social construct of performance and what that means to the individual. RUINING THE ACT explores how we navigate life in states of both the survival brain and the more curious learning brain. How do we suppress our instincts and can we thrive in the cathartic space between ecstasy and anxiety, capturing how we get through the performance of life on and off the stage.

Performed by an outstanding cast of Irish dance artists, RUINING THE ACT blends physicality, dance and text, supported by a visceral soundscape, to show the light and dark of the process. So who are you today? What’s going on? When the whole world is a stage, why are you sitting over there? Get on stage, you’re on in 5!


Date:
Thursday 8th June
Time:
8.00pm
Price:
€14 - €16
Address:
The Complex Gallery & Studios, Arran Street East, Smithfield, Dublin 7, Ireland

Google Map of The Complex Gallery & Studios, Arran Street East, Smithfield, Dublin 7, Ireland

You might also like...

What's on

The Plough and the Stars

Abbey Theatre

The Plough and the Stars was first performed at the Abbey Theatre in 1926. The audience rioted. Now regarded as a masterpiece, this provocative play is an essential part of our understanding of 1916. Recently performed during the centenary of the Easter Rising, Olivier Award-winning director Sean Holmes returns with this production of Sean O’Casey’s absorbing play. Set amid the tumult of the Easter Rising, The Plough and the Stars is the story of ordinary lives ripped apart by the idealism of the time. The residents of a Dublin tenement shelter from the violence that sweeps through t

What's on

An Evening with Ricky Tomlinson – My Arse

Vicar Street

Join us for an intimate and inspiring evening with one of Britain’s most recognisable and beloved entertainers. In this special event, Ricky Tomlinson opens up about the remarkable journey that shaped him—long before his rise to television fame. This special interview is hosted by writer and award-winning performer Asa Murphy, whose warm rapport and charismatic style bring out the very best in Ricky’s stories. “An Evening with Ricky Tomlinson” is more than an autobiography—it’s a celebration of honesty, humour, and humanity.

What's on

Bold Moves: Dare To Dream

O'Reilly Theatre

Bold Moves, Dare to Dream runs at the O’Reilly Theatre, Belvedere College from 10 to 18 April 2026, bringing together Olivier-nominated choreographer Arthur Pita and rising Irish choreographer Ruaidhri Maguire for a programme that challenges expectations of what a night at the ballet can be. Expect sharp storytelling, bold physicality and a soundtrack that moves from classical to cult pop. Arthur Pita brings two striking works to Dublin. His acclaimed A Dream Within a Midsummer Night’s Dream takes Shakespeare’s comedy and turns it on its head, shifting from Handel to Eartha Kitt and B