The Dublin Story Slam @First Fortnight - Begin Again

The Dublin Story Slam - Begin Again

As we come together with First Fortnight for this first Slam of 2026, we're looking for your personal true stories about a time you had to start all over again. From moving to a new home to a new country, taking first steps on your own to starting something new with strangers and friends. Stories about a new relationship, a new hobby or even a new you. Tales of getting knocked down and of falling down before learning how to finally pick yourself up again. This month start a new chapter in your life & share a personal true story from your life, with The Dublin Story Slam.

Is your story connected to Mental Health? Need some help sharing it onstage? Check out this storytelling workshop we're hosting on Jan 10th with all proceeds going to First Fortnight's Creative Therapies.

A StorySlam is a competitive open mic storytelling night. Personal true stories only - so no poetry, spoken word, fiction, music please - just a true story about something that happened to you that you want to share. On the night we pick up to 8 names to come and at the end of the night, Judges in the audience choose an overall winner who is named as our Story Slam Champion. Story Slam Champions go on to compete for the title of GrandSlam Champion at our annual show at The Abbey Theatre. Zero experience needed!!!

This Jan we're inviting anyone to share a true personal story, 4-7mins long and inspired by the theme Begin Again. Stories can be funny, sad, silly and serious but they need to be true, about you and shared without any notes, scripts or props onstage.

Think of us as a close friend you're sharing a personal experience with rather than a performance you need to script, rehearse & memorise. Some of our most memorable storytellers have been people who have never been onstage before. Just be you and the rest will follow! You can watch back this video about how to tell a story over on our You Tube Channel.

To be in with a chance to tell a story, you can sign up to tell a story in two ways:

Sign up in advance - Email us the first line of your story to [email protected] from December 29th. If selected, you get in for FREE and FIRST so you can save some seats for your friends. You'll also definitely get to share your story on the night.

Sign up on the night - Not sure yet? You can also just buy a ticket, head to the show and sign up to tell a story on the night. However's there's a chance your name might not be picked depending on how many names are in the hat. If you want to be certain you'll get to share your story, then sign up in advance.

On the night we pick a max of 8 names at random from the bucket. If you get called, you get up onstage and share your story that can be between 4-7mins long. Remember no notes are allowed onstage! At the end of each story, Judges in the audience will give a score out of 10 and at the end of the night, we'll announce the winner of The Dublin Story Slam. The winner then goes onto compete in our annual Grand Slam event at the end of the year.

At each show we also invite the audience to share their own mini epics by filling out an audience slip. Each month we ask a different question that you can reply to anonymously. Eg Tell us about a time you had a close call! Our host selects a number of these mini epics and reads them out loud & anonymously onstage during the night.

If you've been to one of our shows, you'll know that we have three teams of Judges, selected from our audience. Each team gives each story a score out of 10. These scores are tallied up and at the end of the night we choose a winner. Teams can be up between 2-4 members. You need to have a ticket to be on a Judging team but we'll also invite you in first ahead of the queue so you can grab some good seats for the show. If you're interested in being a Judge, just e.mail us at [email protected].

For more info please visit us at www.thedublinstoryslam.com.

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