PRESS RELEASE – For Immediate Release - 23 March 2016
W.B. Yeats has returned
The Second Coming
World Premiere at the Hawk’s Well Theatre Sligo
Director: Mikel Murfi
Musical Director & Composer: Michael Rooney
Musicians: Michael McGoldrick, Damien O’Kane & John Joe Kelly
Produced by Fidget Feet Aerial Dance & Hawk’s Well Theatre
Welcome to our controlled explosion of the traditional world.
Yeats has returned.
This is the story of his second coming.
This is the music of our world wrapped around the visual beauty of the next.
This is the earthy rhythms of Ireland catapulted up into the air.
This is The Second Coming.
Fidget Feet Aerial Dance Theatre are a group renowned for breaking down the barriers of the
traditional. Produced with the Hawk’s Well Theatre Sligo this show brings together story, music,
aerial circus and dance, examining the old and infusing it with the new. Come and see the heart of
Irish culture within the soul of its greatest poet.
Over the past two years the Hawk’s Well Theatre and Aerial Dance company Fidget Feet have been
busy researching and developing this exciting new performance project, The Second Coming, which
celebrates the fusion of Irish music and dance with aerial dance and circus, all inspired by the poetry
of W.B. Yeats. Directed by Mikel Murfi, with Musical Director and Composer Michael Rooney and a
fantastic host of musicians and performers this is a show you will not want to miss!
The world premiere of this collaborative performance project featuring some of Ireland’s best
creative talent across a wide range of art forms takes place at the Hawk’s Well Theatre, Sligo on
Friday 9th and Saturday 10th of May at 8pm.
Mixing material from the annals of Ireland’s past cohesively with newly created work is a key artistic
ambition for the project. It combines traditional Irish & newly composed music, traditional song &
the work of W.B. Yeats with new script, traditional Irish dance with contemporary & aerial dance.
The music used in the piece is a mix of traditional music and song and newly composed music in the
traditional vein. Integral to the concept of the show is the idea of the soundscape within the piece.
Jym Daly has worked closely with Michael Rooney, the musical director, to integrate audio
recordings and film footage of WB Yeats that weaves in between the live music of the piece, and
shift and pulse with the visual projections that are manipulated live by Jym Daly. The visuals and
audio of this work is very much seen as a performance in its own right, that is informed by the story,
the energy of the performers on stage and that audience that witnesses it.
Traditional Irish dance provides the foundation for the pulse, rhythms and movement of the piece.
What makes the Second Coming so unique is that Fidget Feet mixes Irish dancing with contemporary
dance and aerial dance. The fusion of traditional Irish dance, with contemporary forms and aerial
work in The Second Coming is a first for the art form.
An exciting night of aerial dance, music, theatre, circus and poetry for young and old, don’t miss the
world premiere at the Hawk’s Well Theatre.
Tickets for The Second Coming on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th of May at 8pm are €20/18conc. and
are available from the Box Office on 071 916 1518 or www.hawkswell.com.
Hawk’s Well Theatre
The Hawk's Well Theatre opened in 1982 and since its establishment has been home to a huge
number of spectacular cultural events. Situated in the historic centre of Sligo, the 340 seat theatre is
dedicated to showcasing and promoting a diverse programme of arts and culture including
professional and amateur theatre, a wide range of music, dance and children's theatre. It also has a
long tradition of facilitating the literary arts through its annually hosting of the Yeats International
Summer School and the International iYeats Poetry Competition.
The Hawk’s Well theatre is committed to presenting the best of traditional Irish music as well as
both literary arts and contemporary dance. Sligo has a strong traditional music heritage and its
musical style is loved all over the world. This is best exemplified by the many excellent traditional
groups and musicians to emerge from the county. The theatre has, in recent years, become known
as a producing venue, and in the past 2 years has produced 12 new traditional music concerts, a
national traditional music tour, a jazz commission and 7 new children’s events. The Hawk’s Well
Theatre also founded and produced a children’s theatre festival, a children’s book festival and a
literary festival in collaboration with other local arts organisations in Sligo. It also co-commissioned
the award winning one man play by Mikel Murfi: The Man in the Woman’s Shoes with the Sligo Arts
Service.
FIDGET FEET
Fidget Feet Aerial Dance Theatre is Ireland’s foremost aerial dance company. In ten years Fidget Feet
has grown exponentially, performing across five continents and to audiences of over 100,000
people. In addition to creating work, Fidget Feet is a strong advocate for the development of aerial
work in Ireland. The company was not only the first to teach aerial dance in Ireland, but founded the
Irish Aerial Dance Fest - one of the largest aerial festivals in Europe. Run annually, the Irish Aerial
Dance Fest hosts more than 100 classes over three weeks, and is attended by participates from all
over the world. In 2013, Fidget Feet were artists in residence at the prestigious Irish World Academy
of Music & Dance in the University of Limerick. The success of this initial residency has led to it being
extended to 2017. Throughout 2014 and 2015 Fidget Feet will be establishing the Irish Aerial
Creation Centre in Limerick. This centre will be a place for people to unlock their own creativity. It
will be the only purpose-built space for aerial circus in Ireland. It will act as a home for Fidget Feet
and other world-class aerialists, providing a centre for the creation and education of aerial circus,
and an environment for communities and businesses to explore and learn from themselves.
“I feel privileged to have been present at the birth of Riverdance 17 years ago where Irish dancing
and music was taken out of the cupboard, and was dusted off, given an adrenalin injection and set
free. Last night I felt as if the same was happening again, but this time not only was our culture being
set free, but it was being given wings to fly, and I felt privileged to be there.”
Julian Erskine, Producer, Abhann Productions
For further information contact Maeve McGowan, Marketing Manager, Hawk’s Well Theatre, Sligo,
maeve@hawkswell.com 071 916 1518