Forest Fringe

The Lir, Dublin Dec 13-15 7pm €30/€20 fringefest.com

Winter has arrived. Usually this time of year counts as a severe and slightly cruel test to see how long the human spirit can endure without a festival. In something of a generous experiment, then, if not an emergency relief package for the culturally starving, The Lir, the Dublin Fringe Festival and the British Council have joined forces to bring the Forest Fringe to Dublin for just three nights. During the Edinburgh festivals, this alt.platform hosts some of the most adventurous artists around – which is to say it can be hit and miss, according to taste.

Here, though, the Forest Fringe has struck a canny balance between experimental work and proven ability with a careful balance of approachable British and Irish performers.

Among those featured in this “microfestival”, audience-involving Bristol-based Action Hero replicate the thrills of daredevils with Watch Me Fall; Dan Canham brings back his beautiful documentary dance piece, 30 Cecil Street (above); Veronica Dyas recreates her deeply moving confessional In My Bed; and Glasgow’s whip-smart solo performer Kieran Hurley depicts one man’s journey from Scotland to the 2009 G8 summit.

Add to these a work in progress from Amy Conroy’s HotForTheatre and a new installation from Sheffield’s godfather of the alternative, Tim Etchells, and your winter just got an awful lot warmer.

Can't see that? Catch this:Quietly Peacock, Dublin

PETER CRAWLEY