"A feast for the brains and the soul” - The Zombie Monologues rises again in Kildare this Halloween
The Zombie Monologues rises again for one night only at Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge this Halloween season
Something supernatural is stirring in Newbridge this Halloween season, as Trip Hazard Theatre’s acclaimed horror-comedy The Zombie Monologues comes to Riverbank Arts Centre for one night only on Thursday, 29th October at 8pm, as part of the Samhain Newbridge 2026.
This award-winning horror-comedy is being staged as part of Samhain Newbridge 2026. Written and directed by Rachel Thornton, The Zombie Monologues is a darkly comic and unexpectedly heartfelt ensemble piece that explores questions of connection, survival and what it means to keep living; even when the world seems to have stopped making sense.
The production was first performed at The Irish Society Drama Festival in 2024, where it won six awards, including Best Overall Production and Best Original Writing. Following its success, the show was revived as part of LASTA Festival programme at Dunamaise Arts Centre last year. Now, the zombies are being resurrected once more, to descend on Newbridge.
The year is 2020. Or maybe it’s 2021; nobody can tell anymore.
As the world falls into another lockdown, Colm, a takeaway driver and budding filmmaker, stumbles upon a house of zombies on the fringes of Castlebar. The undead roommates find themselves at the whims of his perpetual positivity as Colm becomes determined to show them, and the world, the bright side of death.
Described as a “feast for the brains and the soul”, The Zombie Monologues blends horror and comedy with moments of humanity and unexpected warmth. The world of The Zombie Monologues is brought to life in part by the original compositions of multi-hyphenate talent Joshua MacNuadhat. For writer and director Rachel Thornton, the production will offer Newbridge audiences a chance to laugh at the darkness while finding something deeply human underneath it.
“We are deeply grateful to Samhain Newbridge and Riverbank Arts Centre for their welcoming of The Zombie Monologues. I went to school in Newbridge and was a member of Kildare Youth Theatre; so the opportunity to stage this production as part of a community festival, and in a theatre I know so well, means a lot to me!
As a company, Trip Hazard Theatre celebrates the silly, scary and sincere. Our motto is “cold hands warm hearts”. Samhain Newbridge is perfect for this.
We had a ball performing The Zombie Monologues in Dublin, Cork and Laois. It’s thrilling to be bringing our characters; Colm and his zombie friends Freya, Sybil, Robin and Patrick, on their first venture to Kildare.”
The Newbridge performance promises a fittingly macabre night out as Halloween approaches: 100 minutes of dark-comedy, horror, heart and plenty of undead chaos, with an interval.
Tickets are available via www.riverbank.ie/event/zombie-monologues/. For more information about the Cast and Crew, visit www.triphazardtheatre.com/the-zombie-monologues-2026.