New scheme to assist Dublin Fringe Festival performers with accommodation
DFF is a multidisciplinary arts festival that takes place every September giving performers of all kinds - from musicians to playwrights - a platform to showcase their work.
However, many of them travelling from outside of Dublin say they are finding it increasingly difficult to secure affordable accommodation while gigging there.
This year the festival has launched a "Digs List" initiative in an attempt to alleviate accommodation costs for artists who are coming from outside the city.
Festival Director Bee Sparks explained that the scheme is now a necessity for many of their performers.
" We work with a lot of artists and part of our remit is to support artists, not just from Dublin but from across the country, and also sometimes international artists who come and take part," she said.
She added: "We're aware that housing in Dublin is really difficult. It can be really cost prohibitive for people to kind of take part in Fringe. We know it can be up to €2000 for one person to stay for a week.
"We looked at what's happening in other countries like the UK, they have formalised digs lists, so we decided to kind of pilot this scheme to trial.
"What it would be if we could create somewhere where people with spare rooms could connect with artists to try and alleviate that kind of financial burden a little bit."
Belfast theatre maker Seón Simpson is one of the many performers who will be taking part in this year's festival.
"The way Dublin is, people would be spending €200-€300 a night for half a bedroom, it doesn't make any sense. So something like this is perfect"
She made her Dublin debut at the Fringe back in 2019 and now frequently travels to the capital to perform. However, she says that each year has become increasingly difficult for herself and her team to participate in the city's arts scene due to rising costs.
"Every year we have noticed a really big increase in both transport costs and housing costs. Our last time we were here, we were here for the first fortnight of the festival and I think the cost of somewhere for us to stay in an apartment for our team had tripled."
"It used to be 'last minute dot com' that we would have been able to book a hotel room. There was one night we got the Gresham Hotel for €40 which we have never been able to get since," she said.
At the festival launch last Wednesday, performers past and present welcomed the new initiative.
Whilst paying a fee for a spare room is nothing new, it's the first time the organisers have officially promoted the practice of Digs, making it easier for performers to participate at this year's event.
"We're not doing it to make money out of it. We're doing it to be an open door and an open room for people that need a room when they come to Dublin to make work and make art"
Musicians Ahmed Kareem Tamu and Darragh Abdera who are both performing at the DFF this year believe that the scheme will be beneficial for everyone in the industry.
"As an artist, when you're going down and you're being looked after for the duration of your performance at a place, it really does just take a thing off the list to be worrying about" Mr Abdera explained.
"The way Dublin is, people would be spending €200-€300 a night for half a bedroom, it doesn't make any sense. So something like this is perfect. It's giving a host an option to make a bit of money and then also giving somebody an inexpensive place to stay," said Mr Tamu.
Jean Hally from Inchicore is one of the several Dubliners opening up her home to DFF performers this year.
Having worked in the theatre industry for 15 years, she says she knows how difficult it can be to find affordable accommodation, which is why she and her partner John felt compelled to sign up to this year's Digs List.
"We charge €50 a night which works at about €350 a week, and I think you would get a hotel in Dublin at the moment between €120 and €200 a night.
"We're not doing it to make money out of it. We're doing it to be an open door and an open room for people that need a room when they come to Dublin to make work and make art and I think that that's much more important than making money out of it".
Dublin Fringe Festival 2025 will run for two weeks and takes place from 6-21 September.
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