by Carys D. Coburn and MALAPROP
A production by MALAPROP Theatre, Dublin, Ireland
Claire O’Reilly
Domhnall Herdman, Ghaliah Conroy, Thommas Kane Byrne, Bláithín Mac Gabhann, Maeve O'Mahony
Molly O’Cathain
Anna Clock
John Gunning
Paula O'Reilly
Ellen Buckley
El Theodorou
Caoimhe Whelan
Maisey Lorimer
Sara Gannon
Dragana Stevanic
Jay Kavanagh
Pato Cassinoni
Molly O’Cathain
Created by THISISPOPBABY for 2020
The performace is funded by the Arts Council
The Sofia tour is made possible through the financial support of Culture Ireland.
Winner of the Best Production and Best Design awards at the Dublin Fringe Festival 2023
HOTHOUSE is a contemporary Irish play with songs, devised through a collaborative creation process. A story of love, loss, and inheritance unfolding across multiple generations, it is set aboard an Arctic cruise ship that takes audiences on a journey to bid farewell to… the polar ice caps.
Led by a slightly unhinged, singing captain, the performance follows stories spanning an entire century — from 9-year-old Ruth in 1960s Ireland to her great-great-great-great-grandchildren one hundred years into the future.
Originally commissioned by THISISPOPBABY for the Where We Live festival in 2020, HOTHOUSE premiered at the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2023. The production sold out completely and earned the company the award for Best Production. MALAPROP Theatre made its Off-Broadway debut with HOTHOUSE at the Irish Arts Center in New York in October 2024, and in spring 2025 the company celebrated its 50th performance as part of a major nationwide tour across Ireland.
Awards and Reviews
Best Production – Dublin Fringe Festival 2023
Best Design Team – Dublin Fringe Festival 2023
Critics’ Pick – The New York Times
“A show of such unbridled brilliance that it is practically flawless.”
— The Arts Review
“Deadly serious and wildly funny.”
— The Irish Times
“Burning questions from this flamethrower of a theatre company.”
— The Guardian
Founded in 2015, MALAPROP Theatre is a Dublin-based collective of theatre makers. Their productions are bold, playful, and freely cross genre boundaries. Their aim is to challenge audiences, bring joy, and speak openly about the world we live in — even when their imagination conjures entirely different worlds.
The name MALAPROR comes from “malapropism” — the incorrect use of a word in place of another word with a similar sound, either unintentionally or for comedic effect, resulting in a nonsensical and often humorous expression. Malapropisms commonly occur in everyday speech and sometimes attract media attention, especially when used by politicians or other public figures.
The company's previous projects, several of them award-winning, include LOVE+, BlackCatfishMusketeer, JERICHO, Everything Not Saved, HOTHOUSE, GULP (video project), Before You Say Anything, and Where Sat the Lovers.
The company has received numerous prestigious awards, including:
Best Production and Best Design Team (Dublin Fringe 2023)
Spirit of Fringe Award (Dublin Fringe 2015)
Melbourne Fringe Award 2018
Romilly Walton Masters Award 2018
Georganne Aldrich Heller Award (Dublin Fringe 2017)
The company has presented its work to audiences in Ireland, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, and Australia.
MALAPROP is an associate company of the Field: Arts artistic network.
