Venture back in time, where personal history meets Irish mythology.

Part fictional, part biographical; all elements overlap. The line between what is myth and what is reality blurs. This new show will follow the story of Oona Doherty’s Great Great Grandfather Specky Clark and his arrival in Belfast. It unravels as a series of theatrical images and is brought to life by an international cast of nine dancers.

On Oona’s father’s side there is a history of working in Belfast’s abattoir and of owning pigs in the back garden tracing back to the 1940’s. Along with a long history in the docks. On the other hand, her mother’s family owned a butcher’s shop in Belfast. For Oona there is something in the meat of her. There is a pink fleshy vulnerability. There is a violence.

Specky Clark features music composed by Maxime Fraisse which combines new and existing scores from Irish band Lankum. Irish playwright Enda Walsh is dramaturg, Sabine Dargent is scenographer, and long-time collaborator John Gunning is lighting designer.

Supported by Cockayne Grants for the Arts, a Donor Advised Fund, held at The Prism Charitable Trust.

Header image description: A group of people dance expressively in a dark, red-lit setting. One person in the foreground wears a mask, while others move energetically in the background.

Header image © Luca Truffarelli