Dances Like a Bomb, a powerful, uplifting duet exploring ageing and care by dance-theatre innovators Junk Ensemble, is returning to Ireland after its critical triumph at Edinburgh Festival Fringe! Find out more here...
The 8-venue tour is coming to Galway with a performance at the Town Hall Theatre on Monday 19th February. Featuring acclaimed actor Mikel Murfi and leading dance artist Finola Cronin (formerly of Pina Bausch's Tanztheater Wuppertal), Dances Like a Bomb is a reclaiming of the ageing body, blending visceral imagery, dance, and music. Celebrating the strength of mature bodies and challenging the cult of youth, the performers are heroic, vulnerable, comedic, and completely themselves in the work. They care fiercely for each other and defend their independence. As they hold each other up and push each other down, the 'performance' of age is unpacked as a reminder of ourselves: our worst and our best.
The production’s Co-Directors, Megan and Jessica Kennedy of Junk Ensemble, say; "We are delighted to bring Dances Like a Bomb back on the road, and particularly to audiences in Ireland where the show was originally created. The themes explored in the show are universally pertinent - there is a universality to ageing; it happens to all of us. It is inscribed on our bodies. Some of us deny age, some of us pre empt it. The performers make each other laugh, they bicker, they question their own lives and each other’s, they rail and rage against their ‘declining’ bodies, they intuit what their bodies need and feel. They remind us of ourselves: our vulnerability, our defiance, the things we would take back and the things we want to see."
Junk Ensemble’s previous appearances in Galway have included performances of The Veiled Ones for Baboró International Arts Festival for Children in October 2021, Soldier Still in 2018 and The Falling Song in 2014. Junk Ensemble were Artists-in-Residence with Baboró in 2019.
PERFORMANCE
Venue: Town Hall Theatre, Courthouse Square, Galway, H91 H3C2
Dates & time: Monday 19th February | 8pm
Tickets: €20 / €18
Running time: 60 mins
Book Now
or Call 091-569777 / Email thtsales@galwaycity.ie
FULL TOUR DATES
Pavilion, Dun Laoghaire | Wedn 31st Jan & Thurs 1st Feb
Hawk's Well, Sligo | Sat 3rd Feb
The Everyman, Cork | Thurs 8th Feb & Fri 9th Feb
Backstage Theatre, Longford | Tues 13th Feb
VISUAL, Carlow | Thurs 15th Feb
Town Hall Theatre, Galway | Mon 19th Feb
Siamsa Tíre, Tralee | Thurs 7th Mar
Project Arts Centre Dublin | Thurs 28th Mar & Fri 29th Mar
WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING
“Arresting…inspired…macabre and comical” The Guardian (included in The Guardian’s Edinburgh Festival top picks)
“Tragicomic study of ageing…full of spirit” The Observer
“Big, powerful” The Times ★★★★ (Best of Edinburgh Festival)
“Surreal, beautiful and extraordinarily human” The List ★★★★★
“Intriguing…clever…poignant” The Stage ★★★★
“Triumphant…understated sophistication that makes it hard to look away” Entertainment Now ★★★★
“Compelling” The Scotsman
“Superb performers ... a heartfelt celebration of two people growing old together” The Irish Times
“Junk Ensemble’s superb new dance...a funny, tender dance about ageing” Substack, Chris McCormack ★★★★
CREDITS
Creation and Direction: Jessica Kennedy and Megan Kennedy
Choreography: Jessica Kennedy and Megan Kennedy in collaboration with the performers
Performers: Finola Cronin and Mikel Murfi
Set Design: Sabine Dargent
Music: Denis Clohessy
Lighting Design: Stephen Dodd
Costume Design: Saileóg O'Halloran
Text: Finola Cronin and Mikel Murfi
Voice Coach: Andrea Ainsworth
Set Construction: Ger Clancy
Stage Manager: Marella Boschi
Chief LX: Alan Mooney
Production Manager: Simon Bird
Producer: Gwen Van Spÿk
Associate Producer: Michelle Cahill
Social Media Management: Sally McCarthy
Funded by The Arts Council of Ireland | An Chomhairle Ealaíon Touring Award
Original production funded by The Arts Council of Ireland Arts Grant Fund and Dublin City Council and supported by Mermaid Arts Centre, Dance Ireland, and Shawbrook Dance.
