The Gaiety School

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The Gaiety School of Acting, The National Theatre School of Ireland, was founded in 1986 by the internationally renowned theatre director Joe Dowling, in response to the lack of full time actor training programmes in Ireland at that time. The school is now widely regarded as the country’s premier training facility for actors.

Our policy is to train actors for theatre, film and television. The school offers a two-year intensive acting programme and an extensive selection of part-time and tailored courses for adults, teenagers, children and overseas students.

Through a committed and dedicated staff, the school has developed and expanded to its current position where over 2000 students are involved in a wide range of courses from our intensive two year full time actor training programme to a range of courses available to students from overseas. These include The Original Theatre Project, our one-month Irish Theatre Summer School and our three-week January or May Irish Theatre programmes.

Writers the school is proud to have commissioned include Marina Carr, Gavin Kostick, Alex Johnston, Ken Bourke, Sean McLaughlin, Mary Elizabeth Burke Kennedy, Lisa Harding, Roger Gregg, Michele Reid, Lally Katz, Lisa Tierney Keogh and Johanna Anderson. The full time actor-training programme boasts unprecedented graduate success with our actors appearing in all of Ireland’s theatres, in film and television nationally and internationally and in theatres across England including The Royal Shakespeare Company and The National Theatre in London. The school is based in the centre of Dublin city’s cultural quarter, Temple Bar. Our range of part time courses take place at other centres around the country.

Nationally and Internationally The Gaiety School of Acting is proud to be The National Theatre School of Ireland.