The opening weekend of February is set to be an exciting one at Roscommon Arts Centre, when the much anticipated Swan Lake takes to the stage.
Billed as “theatre with magic in its veins” by The Evening Standard, this is a show that has been on the centre’s wish list since it first won the hearts of audiences at the 2016 Dublin Theatre Festival.
Set close to home in the midlands of rural Ireland, and combining storytelling, theatre, dance and live Irish folk music with a Nordic twist from the band Slow Moving Clouds, a total of 13 performers from all around the world will bowl audiences over with their mesmerising performances.
“This is the largest professional performance that has ever graced the Arts Centre’s stage,” centre director Averyl Dooher explained. “A show of this scale and size just doesn’t normally tour to rural Ireland, and we’re lucky enough to be one of the first Irish venues to ever host the show outside of the festival circuit – so it really is a big deal for us.”
Swan Lake boasts a local connection, with its creator Michael Keegan Dolan hailing from County Longford. Widely considered one of Ireland’s foremost dance and theatre makers, this is Michael’s first production with his new company, Teac Damsa.
“Between performers and crew, there is a company of over 20 on the road with this show, which is the exception rather than the norm in the world of professional touring companies in Ireland, unless it is The Abbey or Druid,” Averyl said. “Such is the scale of this show, we are stripping back the Arts Centre stage to its bare bones to accommodate it, otherwise it just would not fit.”
This is an extra-ordinary rural adaptation of the classic story, where ancient mythology and the modern world collide. It is very much a Swan Lake for our time.
Brought to you in association with Nomad Theatre Network, with the support of The Arts Council, Swan Lake’s Roscommon Arts Centre dates are Saturday and Sunday, February 3 and 4. Tickets are now available at the Box Office on (090 ) 6625824 and at www.roscommonartscentre.ie
