“Take a slice of Irish culture, add a mirror ball and add some glitter” – Irish Times

Jennifer Jennings arrives first. When Philip McMahon joined us, he apologized for his socks. He points out that they are not white, but pale green. The white sports socks are just one of the many references that appear in her Thisispopbaby work, which cumulatively builds a mashup of glorious Irish culture.

Ronan Brady’s Riot show opened with white socks, GAA kit and crisps on a giant saucer, while Irish dancer Michael Roberson’s top-of-the-line jig appeared in a new production of Wake.・Appears repeatedly during strip aerial turns. When we create, we draw from many parts of who we are to create something new and refreshing.

Created with artist and designer Niall Sweeney, the show is an exuberant, life-affirming explosion that will be staged for the first time at the National Stadium in 2022, recreating the Irish wake as a celebration of life. ing. Its overarching framework brings together a number of outstanding turns that overlap and fuse the various flavors of trad and pop, acrobatics and circus, spoken word and story, and dance, comedy and cabaret.

Proud, moving, artful and wildly fun, this remix of eclectic Irishness was originally planned pre-COVID-19 and slated to open at the Irish Arts Center in New York. “Sometimes the world changes midway through the process,” McMahon says. “Suddenly, the show has become more urgent. Of course, Irish wakes are not about death, they are about ushering in change and transformation. And post-corona, the whole show has become a metaphor for rebirth, rebirth, reawakening.” It became.”

“Wake” gained attention two years ago and was watched by more than 7,000 people. The film won the Jury Recommendation Award and Felicia Orsanilla/Feliz Speaks won the top prize at the Dublin Fringe Festival. It will return to the National Stadium next month as the headline show for St. Patrick’s Festival.

As for 2024, Jennings said: We are now facing chaos and an existential crisis. The need to come together and experience things through the prism of Ireland’s wake feels even more urgent. McMahon continued, “Everything is accelerating in the world, and I think theater, more than ever, continues to be a compelling invitation to come and listen and see in analog spaces.” ” he added.

They assembled an eclectic family of 14 multi-skilled performers. Some of his longtime friends include composer and sound designer Alma Kelliher and choreographer Philip Connaughton, who is a “fan favorite.” He is responsible for an impressive rendition of Mary Colan’s “Seduced.” Adam Matthews is an “extraordinary singer and performer.” Aisling Ní Cheallaigh is a “world class aviator”. Deirdre Griffin is an actor, dancer, and choreographer. Emer Dineen has a great comedic role as DJ Duncan Disorderly. Jennings met Jade O’Connor of the duo Femme Bizarre (“She dances, sings and is part of the Dunken Disorderly crew”) and got her involved in Wake.

“We’re always looking for great people,” Jennings says. McMahon added: “In the early days, you had people in drag bars and queer clubs.” We also support many artists and build relationships with them over time. “Alternative performers often look to us as a base for their work.”

McMahon talks about how Roberson joined the team. The champion Irish dancer from Little Rock auditioned for an upcoming show in New York. “In that movie, he got off the bus from Arkansas and came into our audition room.” A few years later, when Wake transferred to Ireland, Roberson transferred to Ireland as well. He saw Nee Chiarai’s performance in his early workshops and was inspired. Between then and rehearsals, “he ran away with the circus” – literally, to join the British theater company Giffords – and returned as an Irish dancer and airist. “He had dedicated much of his life to Irish dancing, but had never danced in Ireland. We thought we had to bring this guy home. !”

On Wake, he goes from GAA shorts to gold lamé Skimpy, hornpipes to aerials, and a relentless Small Town Boy version of the Bronski beat. “We call him the Paul Mescal of Irish dance,” jokes McMahon.

Jennings mentions Lisette Kroll. “She is an amazing world champion pole dancer, an extraordinary businesswoman and a fantastic artist. She is Venezuelan and has been based in Dublin for many years. We first met Lisette in A while ago, he helped develop Ronan’s striptease on Riot.

she says: “Philly and I stand in front of the storyboard and we’re like, ‘Okay, what do we need here?’ What does the audience need at this moment? It’s a combination of physical and theatrical, vocal and musical. And we need pole dancers. That happens sometimes. We identify a need and go find that person. Other times, I love a particular performer or creator and think about how to incorporate them into the show. ”

thisispopbaby was born in January 2007. Jennings and McMahon’s lives ran parallel, having lived in Australia at the same time in youth theater in Dublin and never having met. She worked in the theater. He “was flying around a lot and was a bit of an actor, but he loved acting more than acting loved me.” What McMahon saw on stage was not representative of his world: “queer, working class, uncollege-educated.” The first play he wrote, Danny and Chantelle (Still Here), about the journey of two ravers, premiered at John Reynolds’ Pod Nightclub at the 2006 Dublin Fringe Festival. it was done. This work incorporated input from Jennings. “It was everything I wanted in theater. I came to Philadelphia and said, ‘I just want to be involved in bringing this back.'” That was the genesis of the company. ”

name? “This is popular culture, baby. We were young!” McMahon says. “It has always been there to remind us of our impulse and mission. We must live up to its name.”

Niall Sweeney got in touch soon after, and “we started generating a lot of heat together,” the designer writes from London. As art director, McMahon said he is “responsible for the visual identity of the company,” including posters, sets and the electric picnic tent. Over time, he will be remembered for creating the biggest and best theatrical posters we have ever seen. ”

Sweeney, who was also a Panty Bliss collaborator, started Alternative Miss Ireland. In a sweet cycle, Thisispopbaby is bringing back her panty show “If These Wigs Could Talk” in New York this June. “He was a legend,” Jennings says. “We convinced him to get into this business. He said, ‘Okay, I’ll do it.’ But I can’t climb the ladder. ” But since then, he has climbed the stairs many times. Often, his visual responses to the provocations of a yet-to-be-produced show end up enhancing the show itself. ”

While the lines between theater, nightclub, festival, and act are blurring, Jennings and McMahon wear other hats as well for Thisispopbaby’s shows, which range from Alice in Funderland to Conversations After Sex. I am. She is currently Artistic Director in Residence at University College Dublin and responsible for the program of Beyond the Pale Festival in Wicklow, while he is Artistic Assistant at Lyric Hammersmith and the Birkbeck Center for Contemporary Theater in London. He is also a researcher at “We’ve always done a lot. This is part of her Thisispopbaby’s magic sauce. It’s a place where many worlds can collide to create something new.” McMahon says.

Seventeen years later, the company is in something of a midlife phase. “We don’t live on the dance floor like we used to anymore,” Jennings says. “But I think there are lasting philosophies and values ​​that were formed on the dance floor. And it feels really visionary and vital, and that’s what we continue to bring to our work.” The concept of creation over consumption, the power of active citizenship and temporary community” was created one night at the theater “as a springboard to a longer community.”

McMahon agrees that they probably no longer use the term “youth culture.” “What we can bring there now is experience, knowledge and excellence. We put all the energy that we have harnessed over the years and now we are able to put on a big show like this. Young, alternative, queer, outsider performers see that and think, “Oh, there’s a world where my work exists.” We didn’t necessarily have that ourselves. ” And youth culture itself is largely unrecognized. “The decline of the dance floor is part of it, because the dance floor is a place to let go and meet all kinds of people. Now people are on Twitter and are locked in their bedrooms.”

“I feel like our engagement with the city is really important at this time,” Jennings says. “The city of Dublin has always been a huge character in the work. Everything we do is inspired by the city and feeds back into the city. It’s a great moment in a really big venue. Very few independent theater companies have achieved that.”

During Wake’s 2022 campaign, “the whole neighborhood was completely hopping. Every bar and restaurant was a jammer.” This time, they formalized that section of the South Loop as the Wake Mile, giving local We’re making a “big splash” through engaging with people and connecting tickets, creating a big night out where people can experience a “world-class spectacle.” You can see the theater without having to walk all the way to see it,” McMahon said.

It is also partly about contributing to the revitalization of Dublin. “We have to live here. We are going to stay here and make this our home. We have to make home a better place for ourselves and for those behind us.” ”He added, explaining that they were focusing on the positives rather than bemoaning Dublin’s nightlife. We are driven by the desire to provide solutions… We believe that culture and art play an important role in this. I would also like to acknowledge that the support from artists has been tremendous over the last while. So let’s follow that rabbit hole. Let’s continue. ”

“The city created the company, so the company has to make the city a better place,” Jennings says. Mr McMahon responded: “We have no intention of turning our backs on Dublin.”

“Wake” is a stadium show in scale, energy and intent. “We are a small island, a small ecosystem,” he says. “In fact, we don’t recommend scaling up.” But they are doing “a major Irish-made theatrical event.” We can bring together the best artists. We can give our viewers a big night out. An independent theater company putting on a show of this size in a slightly non-traditional venue in Dublin 8. That excitement and excitement is oxygen for us. There’s a lot of energy, a lot of love, and a lot of passion in this expedition. ”

Jennings talks about Wake’s ambitions. “We see the potential of this fiercely talented, multi-disciplinary, multi-ethnic group of performers as the quintessential modern Irish show…We want to tour the world with it. McMahon says it’s a “beast of a show.” There will be 21 people on the road, a live band and three aerial points. But “we’re really nimble,” Jennings says. “Riot taught us how to adapt to different venues.”

Citing the adage that one must be invited to a wedding, but anyone can attend a wake, she says, “This gathering of music and culture, silliness and sexiness is reconnecting, renewing, and… They will make it okay for us to continue.” McMahon further added, “We take our traditional culture, add a mirror ball, throw some glitter on top of it, and put a dance feed underneath it. It removes the veil between the worlds Wake lives in. I’m just there.”

wake will be held at the National Stadium in Dublin from Wednesday 6th March to Saturday 23rd March. St. Patrick’s Festival