Roddy Doyle's Two Pints Facebook posts are to be adapted for the stage as part of the Abbey Theatre's 2017 programme.

The Two Pints series centre around two aul Dubliners who muse the news of the day in the corner of a pub.

The subjects they discuss vary considerably, from the deaths of celebrities to the Buncrana pier crash.

Critical

The play will now be performed in a range of Irish pubs around the country.

Another highlight in the 2017 programme is Emma Donoghue's Oscar-winning screenplay Room, which will be adapted to the stage. Ken Loach's drama Jimmy's Hall will also be adapted for stage.

The new programme entitled What happens next is this… was unveiled at the theatre last night by new directors Graham McLaren and Neil Murray.

There will be a total of 15 productions staged throughout 2017.

Some of these will be return performances of critical and commercial hits.

For example, Enda Walsh's Arlington which premiered to much acclaim at the Galway International Arts Festival and starred Love/Hate's Charlie Murphy, will play at the national theatre.

The Corn Exchange's hugely successful 2004 production of Dublin By Lamplight will also return to the boards.

Graham McLaren will also direct Dermot Bolger's version of James Joyce's formative text Ulysses.

Druid's production of Waiting For Godot will open in April following their sell out shows at the 2016 Galway International Arts Festival.

Admired

"We wanted to start our first season on the Abbey stage by inviting in Irish artists, companies and shows we have long admired," Mr McLaren said.

"A number of these shows have never been seen in Dublin and none of them at the national theatre.

"If you haven't seen them yet, you should and if you have seen them you should see them again."

The 2017 Christmas show sounds slightly haunting, devised by the creative team behind Harry Potter And The Cursed Child. Let The Right One In is a vampire love story that has been described as "frightening and feral".

In response to the Waking The Feminist movement there are several female-led productions including Lisa Dwan's one-woman show No's Knife - which is based on a selection of Samuel Beckett's prose.

The theatre will also introduce a series of free previews to encourage more people to attend. The Open House event will see 100 performances of live music and spoken word.

Artists, politicians, singers and scientists will perform their favourite piece of writing.