Robert Power

A Version of Life, Edinburgh Fringe Festival 1-25 August 2025

[Robert Power @RobertPower]

Delighted to announce this solo fundraising tour for my new show A Version of Life which has been programmed for Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2025.
Join me for an evening of songs & stories at these wonderful locations. Tickets available now through the link in bio 🚀

[Robert Power @RobertPower]

Dear Friends,
Too many words for here so had to do it in a pic, for those who care to read… Thank you. See you on the road, Rob x

[Robert Power @RobertPower]

A Version of Life is autofictional. It’s me, sort of. More like “Me”…and my virtual assistant, V4L3R13, or Valerie as I call her. She’s saving me, I think. And Val’s got dreams of her own… We’re off to Edinburgh Fringe Festival and I’m doing a solo fundraising tour 🎫⬆️

[Robert Power @RobertPower]

Really looking forward to this first night of the tour. Join me and help support A Version of Life heading to Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2025.
Tickets here… https://t.co/UERbCCtFt9

[Robert Power @RobertPower]

@pjmath @ucddublin @dublinfringe Thank you so much for your support with it all P.J. Looking forward to the next chapter!

[Robert Power @RobertPower]

Thrilled to announce A Version of Life has officially been programmed for Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2025.
Deep gratitude to all who have supported the show, with special thanks to @pjmath and all @ucddublin and @dublinfringe
Fundraising solo tour begins in March ♥️

[Robert Power @RobertPower]

Thank you so much to @dublinfringe and @ucddublin for an amazing experience with the world premiere of A Version of Life at Trapdoor. Special thanks to the wonderful @pjmath , Director of @creativefutur16 , DFF’s David Francis Moore and @electragrant_ , the voice of Valerie ♥️

[Robert Power @RobertPower]

Heartfelt thanks to everyone who came to see the debut of A Version of Life at Trapdoor @ucddublin for @dublinfringe
Such an honour to have this platform and incredible theatre to showcase the work and I’m so grateful for the opportunity. Thanks so much to everyone involved ♥️

[Robert Power @RobertPower]

Final performance of A Version of Life tonight at Trapdoor @universitycollegedublin for @dublinfringefest
Doors 7pm Show 7.30pm
Join us ♥️
Illustration by the amazing @electragrant_
Thanks to Emer Beesley for the giant version and Matthew Rose Nel for the photograph

[Robert Power @RobertPower]

Hurrah! A Version of Life made it’s debut last night at Trapdoor @universitycollegedublin for @dublinfringefest to a wonderful, listening, receptive audience. Thank you all for coming and for the great response and kind messages. We return tonight. Showtime 7.30pm!

[University College Dublin @ucddublin]

🎭😎 𝘼 𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚: 𝙐𝘾𝘿 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙚’𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝘿𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙣 𝙁𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙁𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡

A new work by a UCD student who graduates within a week of their show premiering at the Dublin Fringe Festival will have a double debut as the production will be the first public performance to be hosted at Trapdoor, the newly developed ‘black box’ theatre at UCD.

A Version of Life is a play created by @RobertPower that was developed during his studies in the School of English, Drama and Film, UCD, and time spent on Erasmus at the University of Iceland.

The piece is a very creative, energetic auto-fictional exploration of creative chaos and focuses on an artist trapped in their studio with an endless array of projects.

Navigating life and death, and an outside world filtered through a virtual assistant, Valerie, who appears to have dreams of her own, the artist at the heart of the work is unable to escape their own mind and a recurring dream of Icelandic nirvana.

“A Version of Life feels like it was always there in my subconscious, waiting for me to be still and write it,” said Robert.

“During my time in Iceland I was making a short film about a dream while simultaneously, in my studies at the university there, examining identity and the impact that living on an island has on the psyche. This connected with my dissertation on the auto-fictional elements I found and identified within my research on J.M Synge at UCD. Then, as though it were destiny, I met Professor PJ Mathews (@pjmath) in CFA’s Creativity module.

“An incredibly generous and intelligent man with a deep understanding of the arts and the creative process, PJ seemed to understand me and nurtured the idea in a way which gave me the belief, space and platform to shape and showcase it in its infancy at Trapdoor. The feedback was wonderful and we knew it was something that could grow. I also felt immediately that it was something that could connect, not just with artists but everyone who has ever dreamed of another version of life or themselves.”

While finishing his final assignments, Robert met with David Francis Moore, Artistic Director of Dublin Fringe Festival and told him about work.

A unique blend of art elements including theatre, live music, film and visual art, A Version of Life was selected to be part of the 2024 Dublin Fringe Festival and make its debut at the newly finished Trapdoor venue at UCD.

“The idea connected with David and the team at Fringe and we were so delighted to be accepted into this year’s programme. It is just the beginning for something that feels like it was always waiting for the light to shine on it. It’s an absolute honour to bring the show to Fringe and so very special to bring it home to UCD where it began its incubation.”

Alongside premiering at Fringe, A Version of Life will enjoy a second debut of sorts as the show will be the first to be staged at Trapdoor since it reopened its doors in February.

The site of the University’s old Dramsoc theatre, the disused performance space - once the heartbeat of amateur stage performances at UCD – was transformed following a €2.5 million facelift earlier this year.

From the 1970s to 2012, this space fostered the talent of some of Ireland’s most distinguished writers, playwrights, and theatre and film directors including Frank McGuinness, Neil Jordan, Consolata Boyle, Marina Carr and Conor McPherson.

Left unused for more than a decade since the early 2000s, the redeveloped performance space is now a permanent 144-seated theatre with professional grade lighting, visual and audio sound systems, and seating, and serves as the new home of the UCD Creative Futures Academy (CFA).

The staging of the show at Trapdoor carries extra meaning for Robert, who said it was where the show first began its development journey.

“Some theatre spaces have a magic in the air which lends itself to the fantasy of imagination and live performance. Trapdoor has that magic. It is also a state of the art, highly sophisticated technical theatrical space run by kind and superbly talented individuals that work as a team,” he continued.

“As an artist working in different mediums I see Trapdoor as the perfect imaginarium. It is a privilege to create in this historic space. I was fortunate to have been introduced to the great Frank McGuiness here in Spring and witnessed his incredible speech at the launch where he pondered what might first spring from the Trapdoor. That it will be A Version of Life is something I will be forever grateful for.”

As part of developing his new play, Robert received mentorship from leading industry professionals including actor and writer Mark O’Halloran and Jenny Jennings, Artists-in-Residence at the UCD CFA, as well as Olivier Award Winning Director, Donnacadh O’Briain.

The work was further developed during the CFA 'Creativity' module, under the mentorship of Professor PJ Mathews earlier this year.

“It has been a great pleasure to work with Robert on this play, and to see it now reach a wider audience through CFA’s partnership with Dublin Fringe Festival is very gratifying. Robert developed an early version of this work for my Creativity module and it was clear from the start that A Version of Life had great potential for success.

“With the opening of the Trapdoor space, our students now have the opportunity to learn and innovate in a state-of-the-art performance venue. The plan is to make Trapdoor a vital part of the creative infrastructure of Dublin City, showcasing emerging UCD talent to the wider world, and bringing the creative energy of Dublin City to the Belfield campus,” Professor Mathews added.

Now in its 30th year, the Dublin Fringe Festival offers an important platform for emerging artists, and this year its programme contains over 500 performances taking place in more than 25 venues.

[Robert Power @RobertPower]

@phad32 Thank you Phad. And that is high praise indeed from you! Get on the train and I’ll have a seat waiting for you guys, maybe leave the little one at home, the language is fierce! And a pint after too..

[Robert Power @RobertPower]

A Version of Life by Robert Power opens at the brand new @creativefutur16 Trapdoor Theatre in the Newman Building @ucddublin tomorrow for a three night run @dublinfringe from 12-14th Sept.

Tickets in Link ⬆️

[Robert Power @RobertPower]

“It’s a dream. The whole thing is a fucking dream.”
A Version of Life by Robert Power
Trapdoor
Newman Building
University College Dublin
September 12–14th
Doors 7pm Show 7.30pm
Tickets €14/€12 Conc.
Proudly presented by @dublinfringe and @ucddublin

[Robert Power @RobertPower]

@ucddublin 👨🏻‍🎓

[@creativefuturesacademy @creativefutur16]

@dublinfringe kicks off this weekend! @HumanitiesUCD will host the premiere of ‘A Version of Life’, a new play by creative practitioner, multidisciplinary artist & UCD student, Robert Power. To celebrate we are giving away 2 pairs of tickets - ‘like, comment & follow’ to enter!👇🏾

[UCD Arts&Humanities @HumanitiesUCD]

We are delighted to welcome back our very own @RobertPower back to premiere 'A Version of Life' in #TrapdoorUCD as part of the Dublin Fringe Festival, 12-14 September🎭

'A Version of Life' is an exciting new work conceptualised by Robert, a BA Humanities student and multi-disciplinary artist, during his studies in @UCD_English & time spent on Erasmus at the University of Iceland

Tickets are available via Dublin Fringe - https://t.co/xyWDohVMyb

[Simon Bourke @Simon_Bourke28]

A Place Without Pain has been shortlisted for the 2024 Carousel Aware Prize for Irish independent authors. Final is on November 1. Thanks to everyone who has read the book so far.

https://t.co/O3O5pXyGKn

[Robert Power @RobertPower]

A Version of Life will debut in 2 weeks time from September 12-14th @dublinfringe in Trapdoor, the incredible new state of the art theatre space in @ucddublin
Grab your seats, NOW! ♥️

[Robert Power @RobertPower]

Join us ♥️