‘That’s Sooo Povo’ presented by D’Girlos Theatre Company

‘THAT’S Sooo Povo’ is a bold, multi-disciplinary theatre piece presented by D’Girlos Theatre Company, founded by Sophie O’Toole and Trudy Nolan from Crumlin and Tallaght, respectively.

It follows two working-class drama students, Chantelle and Craoí, as they rehearse a scene from ‘The Plough and the Stars’.

Their conflict reaches a breaking point, summoning Queen Povo, a larger-than-life, drag-infused entity who forces them and the audience to confront the realities of class within theatre and beyond.

This week, we sat down to interview Sophie and Trudy about the show, which performs in Bewley’s Cafe Theatre from September 17-20 at 6pm and on the 19th and 20th at 1pm as part of Dublin’s Fringe Festival.

Please visit the FringeFest website for more information.

What inspired you to set up this company? Did you always want to make theatre?

We both had very different experiences with the arts growing up.

When Sophie was 10 she saw Meryl Streep in ‘Death Becomes Her’ and was inspired by her.

Eventually, after finishing a scholarship in acting school, she got herself a job at 13 and she and her family continued to pay off the acting classes in order for her to continue to follow her dream.

Trudy, however, had a much later start to the arts. Through being in college together, we both knew we wanted to be theatre makers.

We both are very mixed media artists; however, when it comes to theatre, we noticed how limited it was to working-class artists.

Thus, D’Girlos was a natural creation. We always knew we would work together after college.

It wasn’t until we were applying for fringe that a good friend of ours, Jen Webster (producer of Tallaght Community Arts), was looking over our fringe application and suggested applying as a company.

We paused for a moment and without hesitating said, “yes!”

How did the idea for ‘That’s Sooo Povo’ come about? Were there any specific influences in crafting it?

Throughout our experience in the industry, we would constantly hear the word “Povo” being used in reference to things that would seem of a low quality or, honestly, something that resonated with working-class culture.

It was interesting to experience because they almost seemed like they didn’t even know what they were on about while saying it.

There is a genuine lack of acknowledgement towards classism within the Irish theatre industry.

We both would be sitting in an audience and see classism being displayed on stage, from stereotyping to bad accents.

We would be in shock; however, when we looked around, the audience would be giggling and laughing along. It was just so isolating.

It wasn’t until we met other working-class artists who also felt the same that we realised we were not alone.

Sophie was an Axis Assemble artist in 2024 and during her time there, she did workshops with a Deis secondary school.

Initially Sophie was approached to do these workshops in order to encourage the children to go to college.

However, Sophie began to think of what exactly these kids could benefit from because telling teenagers what to do was hardly the right choice.

The children initially brought up the idea of how college didn’t seem like it was for them, almost like they never even thought of dreaming of going to college.

Sophie expressed how she also felt the same when she was in their shoes; however, she had a trick up her sleeve.

We began to think about what everybody’s alter ego could be as a collective in order for them to move as a group past their preconceptions.

As a group they came up with this mad alter ego called “Queen Povo”, a drag-infused council house couture mythical girl. They made her big and bold and unapologetic.

Sophie took this character and ran to Trudy with it, and together we knew: this is the energy we need on stage.

This play is powered by working-class anger, humour, pride, and survival. And it’s long overdue.

What has the preparation for this piece involved?

The preparation for ‘That’s Sooo Povo’ has been deeply collaborative, research-driven, and rooted in lived experience.

We’ve spent significant time developing the world of the play through writing, devising, and conversation with each other, other working-class artists, and young people navigating similar spaces.

We’ve also done ongoing research into class representation in Irish theatre, analysing the work of Seán O’Casey and how it’s been used and often misused over the years.

This led to the decision to use ‘The Plough and the Stars’ as a framing device to get our message across.

How does it feel knowing that your work will be presented as part of the Dublin Fringe Festival? Are you excited, nervous, or both?

It feels surreal, honestly. To have ‘That’s Sooo Povo’ included in the Dublin Fringe Festival is equal parts exciting and nerve-wracking.

This piece is personal, messy, funny, and confrontational, and knowing it’ll be seen on a platform that values new voices makes the nerves feel worthwhile.

But there’s also a lot of vulnerability in putting it out there. We’re telling the truth about experiences that are often dismissed or misunderstood in the industry, and we’re doing it in our own way, with our own voices.

More than anything, we’re proud that our work has found a place at Dublin Fringe.

What message are you hoping audiences take away from ‘That’s So Povo’?

We want audiences to leave ‘That’s Sooo Povo’ with a deeper understanding of how class really operates, not just in theory, but in people’s day-to-day lives and especially in creative spaces.

If there’s one thing we hope they carry with them, it’s that the industry doesn’t need to “make space” for working-class artists; it needs to step aside and finally let us take the stage on our own terms.

Are there any future shows or events lined up after this?

Trudy has just been announced as an Axis Assemble artist for 2025, and we’ll be collaborating on new work developed during her residency.

She will be developing a piece entitled ‘Quick Pick’, which is examining the state of the public healthcare system through the lens of someone living with a chronic illness.

We’re also so down for ‘That’s Sooo Povo’ to have a cheeky little tour maybe. We’re also buzzing to be working alongside our resident artist (or as we call her, our resident girl), Caitlin Connolly.

Caitlin has been a massive part of our creative family, and she’ll be developing her own work within the company in 2025.

On top of that, we’ve got a lot of facilitation work lined up.

Who would you like to thank for helping with this piece, or just the company in general?

We’d love to thank Dublin Fringe, Tallaght Community Arts (TCA), F2 Centre, Axis Ballymun, and Fishamble for their support, generosity, funding and belief in our work from the very beginning.

And to all our supporters, mentors, pals, our amazing crew, and fellow working-class artists who have championed us, checked in, and reminded us to keep going, you’ve been vital.

Thank you for believing so deeply in us, Dublin girlos.