Written by Emer Dineen (breakout star of WAKE as DJ Duncan Disorderly), directed by Phillip McMahon (WAKE, RIOT, Dublin Oldschool), with music production by Irish EDM legend Elaine Mai, 0800 CUPID brings the vitality and spontaneity of queer counterculture to the main stage at Dublin Theatre Festival. It’s a nightclub interruption and queer cabaret explosion set amidst the bright lights of London, platforming a new generation of Irish diaspora voices and celebrating the creativity of Irish theatre creatives working across two cities. The show premieres at Project Arts Centre Dublin as part of Dublin Theatre Festival, running from 28 September – 5 October 2024 and is THISISPOPBABY’s newest offering since their smash hit WAKE earlier this year.
0800 CUPID is a genre-defying, vibrant and timely response to the swelling social anxiety of our post-pandemic, pre-apocalyptic world. It’s a camp catalyst for reconnection which speaks from a disconnected generation partying as if the world is ending, while struggling with loneliness, the cost of living, comparison and making sense of meaning.
In her 20s, Emer Dineen is the voice and song of a jilted, chronically online generation, with a story that is universal, hilarious and heartfelt. Sliding between fantasy and reality, in 0800 CUPID, Emer takes the audience on a heady musical trip through a fantastical period in her life, looking at her father’s dementia diagnosis, her nightlife career as ‘Cupid’ (a horny cherub matchmaker), getting diagnosed with Tourette’s, being fired from her call centre day job – all while partying under the electric London club lights.
While on this rollercoaster of music, drag, toxic relationships and batting life’s curveballs, Cupid cries out for connection and for meaning; questions answered when and where Emer least expects it. Nothing matters. Everything matters. It’s all random, and yet, it’s all connected. In this brand new music theatre extravaganza, Emer explores life’s meaning, the enigma of being, navigating an internal crisis, coping, thriving, surviving and her pilgrimage back from the brink through her drag persona, crumbling club-kid, ‘Cupid’.
Emer was nominated for Best Performer at the Dublin Fringe Festival for the role of DJ Duncan Disorderly in THISISPOPBABY’s ‘WAKE’ and was the recipient of the Cork Midsummer Festival’s Jane Anne Rothwell Award. Emer’s recent credits include her Abbey Theatre debut in ‘The Quare Fellow’ directed by Tom Creed and her leading role as Elizabeth in new musical ‘MODEST’ at London’s Kiln Theatre and on the UK tour. In addition to her theatre work, Emer is a published songwriter and recording artist with an incredibly powerful voice (The Guardian), various releases and live performance credits including The Albert Hall, O2 Arena and the mainstage at Glastonbury Festival.
Director Phillip McMahon is a playwright and theatre director, whose work has shown at venues and festivals internationally. Writing highlights include Alice in Funderland (THISISPOPBABY & Abbey Theatre), Come on Home (The Abbey Theatre) and Once Before I Go (The Gate Theatre), now added to Ireland’s Leaving Certificate syllabus. Directing highlights include Dublin Oldschool by Emmet Kirwan, Insane Animals by Bourgeois & Maurice, RIOT and all of drag superstar Panti Bliss’ live shows with THISISPOPBABY. He is co-director and co-founder of THISISPOPBABY, most recently co-directing the smash hit arena show WAKE. He is currently an Associate Artist at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, and Creative Fellow at Birkbeck University, both in London.
With a cast of three and live band of three, this high octane queer-party gives a window into the excitement, pressure and creeping anxiety of being untethered in your 20s. Text and music is written by performer Emer Dineen, with co-composition by musical director Tom Beech, and music produced by Irish EDM legend, Elaine Mai. The show unites an incredible design team, elevating the show to an avant garde nightclub come concert aesthetic experience.
