THE two winners of the Dublin Fringe Festival 96 were announced at a packed Da Club on Saturday night. The Dublin Dry Gin award for Best Fringe Production was presented to Corcadorca for Disco Pigs, while Bedrock's own award for Sexiest Fringe Production went to The Corn Exchange for Streetcar.
The prizes were £1,000 (Best Fringe Production) and a bronze award by sculptor Laurent Mellet (Sexiest Fringe Production).
Disco Pigs, produced by the Cork company Corcadorca, seemed a popular choice with the assembled casts and crew of the fringe productions. Written by Enda Walsh and directed by Pat Kiernan, it tells the tale of two friends wandering through the nightclubs of Cork on a birthday celebration. Enda Walsh, who accepted the award, also wrote The Ginger Ale Boy and has recently been commissioned by the Abbey.
Nor was there much surprise at the announcement that Streetcar had earned the title of Sexiest Production. A short, sharp commedia dell'arte version of Tennessee William's A Streetcar Named Desire, it was directed by Annie Ryan who also accepted the award.
Bedrock's Jimmy Fay, director of the Fringe Festival, said the festival had gone very well. "With audience attendance up to 75 per cent and 25 more shows than last year, Festival 96 was certainly bigger and better. It really represents what's going on in theatre across the board."
This will be Bedrock's second and last year running the festival. "It's really a full time job," Mr Fay said.