We make original hand-crafted costumes and props to bring characters and their worlds to life on stage. 

Costume 

Our Costume team are cutters, makers, crafters, sewers, dressers, designers and artists. From the under-skirt made from a duvet to a beaded period bodice and a pair of gold lamé men’s trousers, there is a story behind every costume.

Costume Hire 

Once the productions end, every costume is sent to our warehouse to live another life in future productions both in Ireland and abroad. Our unique stock is made up of pieces that have been seen on the Abbey and Peacock Stages over many years. In October 2019, Costume Hire celebrated ten years in business.

We hold over 30,000 pieces, and our ever-growing range includes:

  • Period costumes
  • Contemporary costumes
  • Distressed items
  • Military uniforms
  • Clerical wear
  • Accessories
  • Footwear

This year we have also acquired new 2022 Garda uniforms. We are currently the only costume department in the world to hold these uniforms and are pleased to present a brochure here with further information. If you are interested in renting these specifically, we have also included a guide here for your perusal.

Alongside the costumes we have created, we also have a number of cherished items that have been generously gifted to us by you. You can view our price list for costume hire here.

You can hire costumes and accessories for use in:

  • Professional, amateur and student theatre productions
  • Opera and dance
  • Film and television
  • Photo and video-shoots

Please note, we do not hire for fancy dress parties.

We are experiencing very high volumes of inquiries at the moment. Please bear with us. 

For Costume hire queries, please email costume.hire@abbeytheatre.ie.

Props 

Rooms at the Abbey hold stacks of antique radios, mobile phones, mahogany chairs, stuffed birds and a Victorian pram. From the black swan in By the Bog of Cats by Marina Carr to a Notre Dame Cathedral made of matchsticks for Bookworms by Bernard Farrell, we have always kept a working collection of props. We source and select the objects that root actors and audiences in a convincing world.

All props get recycled and re-used at the expert hands of our prop makers; we repair, restore, re-invent and re-upholster.

For queries relating to Props, please email eimer.murphy@abbeytheatre.ie

Unfortunately we are currently not in a position to offer a prop hire service for the rest of the year due to our own programme demands.