Fishamble

What Fishamble does

Fishamble: The New Play Company is an Irish not-for-profit theatre company and registered charity (Registered Charity No. CHY 20103958, Company No. 168484) founded in 1988 and headquartered at 3 Great Denmark Street, Dublin. The company discovers, develops, and produces new plays of national importance and reports that it typically supports over 50% of the writers of all new plays produced on the island of Ireland annually. Its portfolio is anchored by touring productions (e.g., Pat Kinevane's King and Silent, Eva O'Connor's For Dolores and Mustard, Deirdre Kinahan's REFUGE) staged across Ireland, the UK, continental Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

The business operates multiple revenue streams alongside its core touring productions: structured playwriting courses (August Online €250, Autumn/Winter 9 Week €375, October Bank Holiday €250), an e-commerce playscript shop (€7-€15 per script), donations and Friends/corporate memberships, and artist support programs including the New Play Clinic, Big Ambitions, New Writing Award, Mentoring & Workshops, the Transatlantic Commissions Programme 2026, and The Navigator Project. Additional offerings include education and schools outreach (WHO AM I? / HOW AM I?, Encore) and community engagement programming.

The company is led by Artistic Director Jim Culleton and Executive Director Eva Scanlan, supported by a small core team (1-10 employees) including a General Manager, Producer, Marketing/Outreach Manager, Literary Manager, and Assistant Producer. Funding is sourced primarily from Arts Council, Dublin City Council, and Culture Ireland, supplemented by tour revenues, course fees, script sales, and charitable donations. The technology stack is non-software; distribution is event-driven through live touring, self-serve course enrollment, and a direct e-commerce storefront.

Name

Fishamble

Legal name

Fishamble: The New Play Company

Website

https://fishamble.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fishamble: The New Play Company is an Irish not-for-profit theatre company that discovers, develops, and produces new plays, supporting over 50% of new play writers on the island of Ireland annually and touring across five continents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Theatre Productions: Revenue from touring theatre productions, with ticket sales at various venues across Ireland and internationally.
2. Playwriting Courses: Revenue from playwriting courses including August Online (€250), Autumn/Winter 9 Week Course (€375), and October Bank Holiday Course (€250).
3. Playscript Sales: Sale of published playscripts in shop, ranging from €7 to €15 per script.
4. Donations and Sponsorship: Charitable donations from public support, Friends membership, corporate membership, and sponsorship arrangements.
5. Support for Artists Services: Various artist support programs including New Play Clinic, Big Ambitions, New Writing Award, and mentoring workshops.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Fishamble is an Irish not-for-profit theatre company that discovers, develops, and produces new plays through touring productions across Ireland and internationally. The company supplements its core production work with playwriting courses (online and in-person), published playscript sales, artist support programmes such as the New Play Clinic and Big Ambitions, and education/community outreach for schools and colleges.

Product overview

Fishamble: The New Play Company is an award-winning Irish theatre company that operates as a single unified offering focused on discovering, developing, and producing new plays. The portfolio consists of a core production service (new play development and touring), supplemented by educational playwriting courses (August Online, Autumn/Winter 9 Week, October Bank Holiday), published playscripts for sale, and artist support programs including New Play Clinic, Big Ambitions, New Writing Award, and mentoring workshops. Additional offerings include education outreach and community engagement programs for schools and colleges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• New Play Production Core service in which Fishamble discovers, develops, produces, and tours new plays of national importance with a global reach. Productions are staged at festivals and venues across Ireland and internationally for theatre audiences.
• Playwriting Courses Educational playwriting courses offered to aspiring and emerging writers in three formats: an August Online course via Zoom (€250), an Autumn/Winter 9-week in-person course at Fishamble Dublin (€375), and an October Bank Holiday weekend intensive (€250). Courses cover craft and development with limited cohort sizes.
• Published Playscripts Sale of published playscripts from Fishamble's catalogue, including King (€7), Silent (€10), Refuge (€7), Fight Night (€7), In Two Minds (€7), Haughey|Gregory (€7-15), Mustard (€7), The Leap (€7), and compilation volumes, available individually or in bundles.
• Support for Artists Programs Artist development services comprising the New Play Clinic, Big Ambitions programme, New Writing Award, Mentoring & Workshops, Transatlantic Commissions Programme 2026, and The Navigator Project, providing professional support, mentorship, and commissions to playwrights and theatre makers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supports over 50% of new play writers produced on island of Ireland annually

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Staatstheater MainzcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Co-production partnership with Staatstheater Mainz in Germany for REFUGE by Deirdre Kinahan. World premiere in Mainz followed by Irish premiere at Dublin Theatre Festival.
• Pavilion TheatrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation partner for REFUGE production and multiple other Fishamble productions including Irish premiere at Dublin Theatre Festival.
• Lime Tree Theatre | BelltablecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation partner for REFUGE and The Leap productions. Home venue for Limerick presentations.
• Georganne Aldrich Heller / Irish Theatre and FilmcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-Producer for London, New York and LA productions. Has facilitated US premiere of Underneath and Silent at Soho Theatre London.
• Rise ProductionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Rise Productions for Fight Night, written by Gavin Kostick and directed by Bryan Burroughs. Fight Night developed as part of Show in a Bag initiative.
• Theatr Genedlaethol CymrucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitial development support for Taigh/Tŷ/Teach, the trilingual co-production involving writers from Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Traverse Theatre: Edinburgh-based theatre dedicated to new writing and a primary venue during Edinburgh Fringe. Directly comparable as a new-play-focused organization with international writer development programmes and award-winning productions.
• Gate Theatre Dublin: Dublin-based producing theatre with strong international touring and co-production partnerships. Comparable in producing new Irish writing and operating at a similar mid-scale within the Dublin theatre ecosystem.
• Corcadorca Theatre Company: Cork-based Irish theatre company producing new work with site-specific and touring elements. Comparable as a regional Irish theatre producing and touring new plays at similar scale.
• Druid Theatre: Galway-based touring Irish theatre company producing new and classic work with international reach. Directly comparable as a similarly-sized Irish new-play developer with touring abroad (including the US).
• Decadent Theatre Company: Irish touring theatre company producing contemporary and new plays across Ireland and the UK. Comparable in scale, touring model, and focus on developing new Irish writing for regional and international audiences.
• Landmark Productions: Dublin-based independent producer of new Irish and international work with international co-productions and touring. Comparable mid-sized Irish producer competing for the same playwright talent and venues.
• Rough Magic: Dublin-based independent theatre company producing new plays and adaptations with international touring. Comparable mid-sized Irish theatre company operating in the same writer and venue ecosystem.
• Soho Theatre London: London-based new-writing and comedy venue with a writer-development programme and international touring links. Comparable as a UK-Irish axis new-play developer (Fishamble premiered 'Silent' and 'Underneath' there).

Broad incumbents

• Abbey Theatre: Ireland's national theatre, based in Dublin. Comparable as a producer of new Irish plays with public Arts Council funding, but operates at significantly larger scale and broader programming (not solely new-play focused).

Others

• Irish Theatre Institute: National resource organization supporting Irish theatre makers with development, touring advice, and producer support (notably co-runs 'Show in a Bag' with Fishamble). Comparable as an ecosystem enabler in Irish new-play development rather than a direct producer competitor.

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fishamble
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/fishamblenewplayco
• Facebookfacebook.com/fishamble
• Instagraminstagram.com/fishamble

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fishamble