This Solution

A porn set.
A private dance class.
A perpetual agreement.
Cash in hand.

Based on a true story, This Solution is a new documentary-theatre hybrid from Shaun Dunne that fuses revelatory testimony with new writing, dance, and original music. Inspired by a young Irish man’s experience of the gay porn industry, this genre-bending new work looks at consent and contracts, regret and rebirth, uniting a compelling team of contemporary artists. This project marks Dunne's return to Dublin Theatre Festival following the cinematic release of "How to tell a Secret" (IFTA nominated, adapted from Rapids, DTF, 2018).

Writer Shaun Dunne

Directors Claire O'Reilly & Shaun Dunne
Creative Producer Killian Coyle
Set & Costume Design Ellen Kirk
Lighting Designer John Gunning
Sound Design Robbie Kitt
Film Design, Photography & Videography Luca Truffarelli
Choreographer & Performer Jessie Thompson
Chief LX & Op Gavin Kennedy
Stage Manager Rachel Ellen Bollard
ASM Aimee Crilly
Production Manager Eoin Hannaway

Cast Adam John Richardson (The Dry Britbox / RTE), Jessie Thompson & Adam O'Reilly. More TBC.

Shaun Dunne | Writer & Director

Shaun Dunne is a Dublin based writer and director who works extensively across film and theatre.

He was the Arts Council’s Next Generation Film Artist for 2020 and is currently developing new feature-length narrative concepts with support from Screen Ireland and the Arts Council.
Theatre work includes Death of the Tradesmen, Making a Mark, Rapids, and Restoration.
This is the third time Shaun has presented at DTF, following on from the successes of What Did I Miss? (The Ark) and Rapids (Talking Shop Ensemble).

Experimental film work includes The First was a Boy, Iarscoláire (Past Pupil), Dúirt Tú (You Said) and Tar Anseo (Come here) – all of which were awarded top prizes at premiere Irish Film festivals including Cork International Film Festival, Dublin International Film Festival and Fastnet.

In 2022, Shaun presented his debut documentary feature at Dublin International Film Festival. Adapted from his theatre show Rapids, HOW TO TELL A SECRET was made in collaboration with Anna Rodgers and Invisible Thread Films. It was awarded Best Documentary at Irish Film London, has since screened internationally and was recently nominated for Best Documentary at this year's Irish Film & Television Awards.

Claire O’Reilly | Director

Claire is an Irish theatre director based between London and Dublin. She is the director of the award-winning, internationally touring, new work collective Malaprop Theatre. Recent work includes Hothouse by Carys Coburn (Dublin Fringe 2023) Bulrusher by Eisa Davis (The Lir Academy 2023), A Family Business by Chris Thorpe (Staatstheater Mainz 2022), Accents by Emmet Kirwan (Dublin Fringe 2022), Christine by Jennifer Jonson (Peacock Theatre Dublin 2022).

Associate director credits include A Streetcar Named Desire (dir. Rebecca Frecknall, Phoenix Theatre 2023), Dr. Semmelweis (dir. Tom Morris, Harold Pinter 2023). Assistant director credits include Uncle Vanya (Sonia Friedman Productions 2020) and Translations (Royal National Theatre 2019), both dir. Ian Rickson. Claire is a former Resident Director at the Abbey Theatre (2022-2023). She has a Master's in Drama Directing from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (2019) and is a graduate of Film and Theatre at Trinity College Dublin (2015). She is currently developing a drama for young people for RTÉ.

Killian Coyle | Creative Producer

Killian (he/him) is a passionate and detail-oriented Creative Producer, working alongside theatre and film makers between Ireland and the UK. With a focus on socially engaged storytelling, Killian is deeply committed to affecting change and making a difference through his work. He has worked on a diverse range of projects, from short films and site-specific performances to national and international tours, and artist development programs.

Notable highlights of Killian's creative producing career include Good Sex with Dead Centre, Privilege: The Musical! with Louise White Performance, a national tour of the award-winning Making A Mark with Talking Shop Ensemble and Run of the Mill, short film Headspace with Run of the Mill and Arcade Film, and the radical interpretation of George Orwell's Animal Farm, Animals, with Louise White Performance for Dublin Theatre Festival 2022.

Currently, Killian is working on a suite of film, theatre, and artist development projects with Run of the Mill, backed by the Arts Council's Arts Grants funding for 2023. Most recently he took Dead Centre's Good Sex on its first international outings to Noorderzon Festival, Groningen, The Netherlands & The International Summer Festival Kampnagel, Hamburg, German in late Summer 2023.

Killian is a part of the field:arts cohort, a new Creative Production Supports initiative supported by the Arts Council of Ireland that will cultivate growth, sustainability and ambition across the independent contemporary arts sector in Ireland by prioritising the fundamental relationship between the Creative Producer and Artist.

Jessie Thompson | Choreographer & Performer

Jessie Thompson is a Dublin based Dance artist specialising in Experimental, Contemporary and Hip Hop Styles. She is a performer, Choreographer and Movement director as well as a Facilitator and event curator. Jessie's practice and work have been supported through several awards from Arts Council Ireland, Dance Ireland, Dance Base Scotland and Galway Dance Project over the past few years.

Jessie was programmed at Dublin dance Festival 2022 and 2023 to present her working piece CRAWLER in collaboration with Jason Mcnamara, she has presented short works at festivals such as Dance2Connect , Top8streetDanceFestival and several Creative Places Festivals across Ireland. This Solution is Jessies Theatrical debut as both a performer and choreographer, since starring in Night Dances by Emma Martin, United Fall in Dublin Theatre Festival 2021 and Edinburgh Fringe 2022. Jessie has collaborated with companies such as OnetwoOneTwo, TasteinYourMouth, Liz Roche company in various capacities across Film and Theatre. Jessies has choreographed and/or performed in Music Videos for Irish Artists such as Gemma Dunleavy, Talos, Kynsy, Loah Khakikid and More and is widely known for her strong presence in the Irish street Dance scene.

Ellen Kirk | Set & Costume Design

Ellen is a production and costume designer working across theatre and film. Some recent work includes Balor Hall by Rioghnach Ní Ghrioghair for RTÉ Storyland, Set design for The Boy Who Never Was (Dublin Theatre Festival, 2022) and Masterclass (Project Arts Centre, 2021, Winner of Scotsman Fringe First Award at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022) by Brokentalkers. Set and costume design for G.O.D. by Lee Coffey, Party Scene by Phillip McMahon and Philip Connaughton (Cork Midsummer Festival and Project Arts Centre, 2022) and Lúminaria by Fionnuala Gygax (Irish tour, 2022).

Ellen is co-founder and designer with theatre collective Murmuration. They have made a number of sound based intimate performance pieces including You’re Still Here (Dublin Castle, Dublin Fringe Festival, 2021) Will I See You There (Dublin Fringe Festival, 2020) and Summertime (Dublin Fringe Festival, 2018).
Ellen was nominated for a 2022 Aer Lingus Discovery Award at the Dublin Film Festival for her work in production design for film. Ellen has recently been nominated for a Kinsale Shark Award for her work on Don’t Go Where I Can’t Find You.

John Gunning | Lighting Design

John is an alumnus of Dublin Youth Theatre and a founding member of Malaprop Theatre Lighting.

Credits with Malaprop include LOVE+, BlackCatfishMusketeer, Jericho, Everything Not Saved, Where Sat The Lovers.

Other credits include Navy Blue (Oona Doherty), Tiny Plays 24/7, Tiny Plays For A Brighter Future (Fishamble), Venus in Furs (Rough Magic SEEDS), The Roaring Banshees (Devious Theatre Co.), We Can’t Have Monkeys in the House (Sad Strippers), Bulrushee, The Three Sisters, The Laramie Project, Demons (Lir Academy), The Egg Is A Lonely Hunter (Hannah Mamalis).

Robbie Kitt | Sound Design & Composition

Robbie Kitt is one of Ireland’s most regarded electronic musicians. He has performed and DJ’d extensively as R.Kitt, including a solo show in the National Concert Hall, a Boiler Room appearance at AVA, internationally at Printworks in London and Griessmuehle in Berlin as well as at Electric Picnic, All Together Now and many others. He has worked as a music mentor with NOISE since 2022, empowering young people to get involved in electronic music through education.

He is one of the central figures in the Give Us the Night campaign.

In 2021, Robbie was awarded the Next Generation Award for Music by the Arts Council.

Luca Truffarelli | Film Design, Photography & Videography

Luca Truffarelli is a freelance photographer and video maker based in Dublin. He graduated in photography in 2011 and started experimenting and challenging himself in the field of visual arts and sound design. Over the past few years he has been involved in contemporary dance and theatre works as a photographer/video maker, visual/set designer and artistic collaborator.

Luca has received awards on several film projects, best documentary at DIFF 2023 for the film Notes from sheepland by Cara Holmes and also with directors such as Ingrid Nachstern and Shaun Dunne in several international film festival. In 2020 with the film “Welcome to a bright white limbo” directed by Cara Holmes, an IFTA award for best Irish short. Luca’s most recent work includes collaboration with acclaimed choreographers and companies Oona Doherty/OD Works, Philip Connaughton Dance, Liz Roche Company, Junk Ensemble, Emma Martin/United Fall and Catherine Young Dance, Thibaut Eiferman/ENTITY (Paris).

His work has been published and presented: Venice Biennale Dance, Danza Internazional Magazine, Wuppertal Pina Bausch, Centre Pompidou Paris/Bruxelles, Paris Biennale de dance, Barbican, Photoireland, IAC NY, Factmag UK, Art Night UK, Dublin Dance Festival, Dublin Theatre Festival, Espace des Arts, Mouvement magazine, Cara Magazine, The Ark, Sky Art, Tate Britain, Hangartfest, Fringe Festival, Bealtaine Festival, DMJ Japan, BBDO, Boys and Girls, Carve On, L'Oreal, Brown Thomas, The organic collective, Boqueria, Fitzwilliam Hotel, Listone Giordano, Manrico Cashmere, Bargello Museum of Florence, Studio 6 Aprile for RAI.

Awards Film and Theatre

How to Tell a Secret, Irish London Film Festival and Poland LGBT Film Festival

— Best Documentary

Dúirt Tú (You said), Cork International Film Festival, 2020
— Best Director for Short Film

Iarscoláire, Dublin International Film Festival, 2020
— Audience Choice Award for Short Film

Making A Mark (2019), Project Arts Centre
— Dublin Fringe Festival Judge’s Choice Award

The First was a Boy (2019)

— Dublin Film Festival Official Selection, Judge’s Special Mention for Irish Short.
— Cork Film Festival Official Selection, Honorable Mention, Grand Prix Documentary Short Award.

Advocacy (2015), Project Arts Centre, Dublin Fringe Festival
— Best Ensemble Award and Best Performer Award

Death of the Tradesmen (2014), Project Arts Centre
— Fishamble New Writing Award, The Lír Inaugural Revival Award