Clowng about: The Gonzo are the first Cavan group to play Dublin's Fringe Festival.

Damian McCarney

The Gonzo Theatre Group has become the first Cavan drama group to play the Dublin Fringe festival with their brand new show, The Circus of Perserverance. The play runs until this Saturday, September 15 and a bus has been laid on for Cavan theatre-lovers to enjoy the show in the capital on Friday.

The press bumpfh describes The Circus of Perseverance' as "a rambunctious, highly profane production that will immortalise one of the most testing times in Dublin's history. Out of the ashes of a burnt and charred city, rise the heroic adventures of characters on the fringes of an absurd society.

"With the ringmaster as narrator, and our capital as the backdrop, seven interwoven stories are blasted into life in a mesmerising disco of scenes. Philip Doherty's gives us a dark and comic tribute to Dublin City, its colourful characters, and the circus our lives have become."

Philip is eager to repeat the success he enjoyed with The Devil's Ceili at the Fleadh, with a Fringe show that pulls out all the stops.

"It's wildly comic in places and very dark in others," promises Philip. "It's probably our most ambitious production to date, regarding design, the pace the stories are told at and the issues we are tackling. It's a collision between the comic and the dark, and with Dublin in the guise of a Circus it promises to be a fun but arresting experience."

Judging by the promo below (beware the occasional swear), you suspect he's on the money.

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Cavan audiences will be familiar with most of the Circus cast, including Shane Carroll (Fleadh Town, The Begrudgers), Kim McCafferty (The Devil's Ceili, Flat Lake the Movie), Kevin McGahern (The Devil's Ceili, Hardy Bucks), and Paul Marron (priest in The Devil's Ceili). It also includes three Dublin based actors - Rex Ryan, Cara Christie and Amy Kellet. The live music is provided by Alan Darcy and Daragh Slacke.

The Circus of Perseverance runs at The Back Loft, 7/11 Augustine St (just off Thomas St) Dublin to Saturday, September 15. Shows start at 9pm. Fringe Box Office: 1850 374 643. A special Gonzo bus will be leaving Cavan Friday evening to the show. Contact Rosie on 087 0636 296 for bus details.