0800 CUPID

Presented by THISISPOPBABY

Thursday 18 – Friday 19 June

Nightlife gatecrash, raucous cabaret and musical extravaganza; 0800 CUPID is a genre-defying queer countercultural opus from THISISPOPBABY coming to The Everyman as part of Cork Midsummer Festival.

In 0800 CUPID, Cork-born cabaret star, writer, house music vocalist and actor Emer Dineen teams up with award-winning playwright and director Phillip McMahon to create a form busting, epic and unforgettable musical odyssey through a couple of very strange years in Emer’s life.

Through her drag persona, crumbling club-kid ‘Cupid’, Dineen grapples with love in a lonely capitalist paradigm. Hungover, moulting and disorientated, our redundant deity battles modern life, unravelling Emer’s true story of navigating loss, crises, chaotic relationships and feeling the sweet sting of meaningful connection where she least expects it. 0800 CUPID is an SOS (emergency) response to the swelling social anxiety of a post-pandemic pre-apocalyptic world, a camp catalyst for reconnection. It’s a musical march into and back from an existential brink.

Produced by the multi-award-winning theatre company THISISPOPBABY, 0800 CUPID premiered at Dublin Theatre Festival 2024 with a sold-out run, named by the Examiner as the highlight of the festival. Immediately afterwards it transferred to Soho Theatre in London, receiving rapturous audience and critical response in both cities, with five-star reviews across the board. Audiences have described 0800 CUPID as incredible, unmissable, riotous, virtuosic, life-affirming and perfect.

★★★★★ “Hilarious, heartfelt theatre by one of Ireland’s rising stars” – The Irish Times
“Entertaining in every way” – The Irish Times
★★★★★ “Forget Cillian Murphy, Cork’s real superstar is Dineen!” “A talent this big can’t possibly be contained. Dineen is simply phenomenal” “Gorgeously good fun” – The Arts Review
★★★★★ “the highlight of Dublin Theatre Festival 2024” – Irish Examiner
★★★★★ “Feverish, fantastical soup of pop-star glam” – The Guardian
★★★★★ “Unmissable” “An incredible show that doesn’t let up from start to finish” – Everything Theatre
★★★★★ “Emer’s writing is like a big hug from someone you’ve cried to in a club bathroom!” “Authentically queer, human, and life-affirming” – The Arts Dispatch
★★★★★ “0800 CUPID is an incredible piece of theatre, bringing a queer story to the stage in an appropriately flamboyant fashion.” – GCN

CREDITS

Text, Composition and Lyrics Emer Dineen
Directed and Developed by Phillip McMahon
Co-Composer and Musical Director Tom Beech
Music Producer Elaine Mai
Choreographer Carl Harrison
Lighting Designer Sarah Jane Shiels
Set Designer Ellen Kirk
Costume Designer Lambdog1066
Performed by Emer Dineen, Isabel Adomakoh Young, Carl Harrison, Tom Beech (keys), Michael McCarthy (drums), Osazee Aiguokhian (bass)
Produced by Daniel Culleton and Carla Rogers
Images by Eoin Greally and Niall Sweeney