On tour 31st January – 29th March 2024 | Dun Laoghaire, Sligo, Cork, Longford, Carlow, Galway, Tralee, Dublin
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. Performances will be running from January 31st – March 29th in eight venues: Dun Laoghaire, Sligo, Cork, Longford, Carlow, Galway, Tralee, and Dublin.
Celebrating the strength of mature bodies and challenging the cult of youth, Dances Like A Bomb is a reclaiming of the ageing body, blending visceral imagery, dance, and music. Featuring acclaimed actor Mikel Murfi and leading dance artist Finola Cronin (formerly of Pina Bausch’s Tanztheater Wuppertal) 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.”
CREDITS
Creation and Direction Jessica Kennedy and Megan Kennedy
Choreography Jessica Kennedy and Megan Kennedy created 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 Sarah Timmins
Production Manager Simon Bird
Producer Gwen Van Spÿk
Associate Producer Michelle Cahill
Social Media Management Sally McCarthy
Funded by The Arts Council of Ireland Touring Award
Original production funded by The Arts Council of Ireland | An Chomhairle Ealaíon Arts Grant Fund and Dublin City Council and supported by Mermaid Arts Centre, Dance Ireland, and Shawbrook Dance.
PERFORMANCES
Pavilion, Dun Laoghaire | Wednesday 31st January & Thursday 1st February
Hawk’s Well, Sligo | Saturday 3rd February
The Everyman, Cork | Thursday 8th February & Friday 9th February
Backstage Theatre, Longford | Tuesday 13th February
VISUAL, Carlow | Thursday 15th February
Town Hall Theatre, Galway | Monday 19th February
Siamsa Tíre, Tralee | Thursday 7th March
Project Arts Centre Dublin | Thursday 28th March & Friday 29th March
Running time: 60 mins
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 ★★★★ (included as the best of Edinburgh Festival)
“Surreal, beautiful and extraordinarily human” The List ★★★★★
Meryn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe 2023 ★★★★★
“Intriguing…clever…poignant” The Stage ★★★★
“Triumphant…understated sophistication that makes it hard to look away” Entertainment Now ★★★★
“Memorable…arresting…joyous” Camden New Journal ★★★★
“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 ★★★★
