A celebration of the Irish soul from our avant-garde experts
ADYNAMIC celebration of love, life, death, and everything in between, WAKE is a phenomenal, jam-packed performance that comes with this warning: ‘If you leave a totally different person, that’s not our fault.’
At its core, this endlessly entertaining performance is a love letter to an Ireland both old and new — 90 minutes of organized chaos that gathers a range of compelling performers to participate in a conveyor belt of one talented display after another.
Refreshingly outrageous, this unpredictable and joyful production from THISISPOPBABY has it all — think soulful Irish ballads, DJ sets, Paul Mescal shorts, Kerry GAA kits, gravity-defying acrobatics, aerial-dancing and pint-chugging.
Crowd interaction is a hugely entertaining portion of WAKE , although with that added terror that you may get picked on at any moment.
The ringside audience plays a secondary, yet pivotal, part in this theatrical extravaganza’s joy factor — all while substituting the often solitary element of the theatre experience with a palpable sense of togetherness and blurring the lines between spectator and performer.
Wreaking hilarious levels of havoc on the crowd, DJ Duncan Disorderly is a standout act — the laugh-outloud DJ, donning full rave wear, manages to evoke a club-tune singalong, beat-boxing from the audeince and an all-in-all whirlwind mini-festival experience.
With the DJ set providing spurts of acid house, WAKE’s glittering soundtrack of modern pop and 80s electronica is accompanied by plaintive Irish folk music and a rendition of The Cranberries Ode To My Family, resulting in a surprising blend of genres that flow seamlessly throughout this dopamine-inducing talentshow-of-sorts style play.
Speaking of talent, forget hiring a life coach — bursting with energy, poet Felispeaks gives impassioned and impactful monologues, rhythmic spoken word laced with the potential to snap even the most downhearted of listeners out of a rut.
Bringing us through the motions, this immersive production has the audience on the verge of tears before raising our heart rates and having us on our feet, it’s exciting and fun, offering contrasting moments of quiet poignancy and polished silliness.
Featuring a stellar ensemble of trad musicians, dancers and singers bringing their talents to the circular stage, WAKE is an ode to Ireland’s historic session culture and deep-rooted musical heritage, with the backdrop of an Irish wake the ideal medium to pay tribute to the important customs that have been passed down from one generation to the next.
Created by Jennifer Jennings, Phillip McMahon and Niall Sweeney, WAKE is the ultimate going away hooley — a depiction of mourning turned celebration of the living that is a larger-than-life interpretation of the very Irish ability to turn wakes and funerals into lively affairs. But, as with any wake, the quiet instrumental moments and heartfelt melodies between the raucousness serve an equally important role.
Entirely deserving of the uproarious standing ovation it received, the glorious fever dream that is WAKE might not leave you an entirely different person — but is guaranteed to impart a hefty dose of optimism and just a touch more joie-de-vivre than you arrived with.