All new and existing ticketholders are required to show proof of Covid-19 Vaccination Certificate on entry to this event at glór. Children under 18 who are accompanying adults do not need proof of vaccination or recovery. Please note wearing of mask/face covering is compulsory at all times inside the building.
Emma Martin returns to create her first ever production for younger people and everyone who is aged eight and older.
Once there was a boy who wished he was a bird. He wished he could just fly away and be free of all his worries.
Birdboy is a trip inside his head. In his whirring mind, thoughts, worries, fantasies all compete for space in a world where fitting in is hard to do. Full of fun and sorrow, this kaleidoscopic show, performed by dancer Kévin Coquelard, celebrates the power of imagination and offers a vision of hope and connection.
Emma wrote about the process involved in creating Birdboy:
In 2017 my daughter Rudi was 6, and somebody gave her a CD of Carnival of the Animals for Christmas which included Ogden Nash’s verses he wrote to accompany Saint Saen’s music. Our favourite piece of music was The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods. I started thinking about making a show for Rudi and her friends, with this gorgeous piece of music in it. Excited but also slightly freaked out by the challenge I kept putting it off, until finally I just put my head down in 2019. The first image of a show I had in my mind was the dancer Kévin Coquelard floating in space with an astronaut helmet on. (There was also another version of something like an installation with animatronic creatures inspired by The Neverending Story, but that got too complicated.)
We started with:
There’s nothing left…except for one human child floating in the vast emptiness, alone.
The process that ensued was a rabbit hole of YouTube, Shaun Tan, a dead bird incident involving my cat and Kévin, dandelion seeds, and a lot of helium. We created it in about seven weeks over the course of eight months in 2019 at VISUAL, Carlow and invited kids in to test out the work in development at various points throughout.”
Suitable for everyone aged 8 years +
Emma Martin…delivers a brave, bold, brilliant production touched by moments of genius” Irish Mail on Sunday on Orfeo ed Euridice, 2019
Created by Emma Martin in collaboration with:
- Kévin Coquelard – Performer
- Orla Clogher – Visual Artist and Designer
- Dunk Murphy – Sound Designer and composer
- Stephen Dodd – Lighting Designer
- Faolán Ó Murchú-Toner – Voice
- Shane O’Reilly – Dramaturge and Education consultant
- Pádraig Heneghan – Producer
- TBC – Production Manager
- Luca Truffarelli – Photography and Video
Emma Martin started making shows in 2010, following a prolonged hiatus as a ballet dancer during which she waitressed, drew and studied Russian. United Fall was formed in 2015. She creates works that often combine dance, live music, theatre and distinct visual universes, always with the raw expression of dance as it’s driving force.
United Fall is: Emma Martin (choreographer), Pádraig Heneghan (producer) and Peter Jordan (production)
Regular collaborators include: Justine Cooper, Stephen Dodd, Oona Doherty, Stephanie Dufresne, Catherine Fay, Tom Lane and Luca Truffarelli
Recent productions Emma has collaborated on include: Arlington (Landmark/ Galway International Arts Festival 2016, Abbey Theatre, St. Ann’s Warehouse), Danse, Morob (Olwen Fouéré/ The Emergency Room), Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre 2016), Romeo & Juliet (Gate Theatre, Dublin 2015), Luck Just Kissed You Hello (HotForTheatre/ Galway International Arts Festival 2015), Teh Internet is a Serious Business (Royal Court 2014).
United Fall is funded by The Arts Council of Ireland
Supported by: VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art, Carlow and ArtLinks
