Connect with us

Community

PHOTOS – The Táin: Ireland’s First Hip Hop Theatre Production

Published

on

 

 

 

The Táin: Ireland’s First Hip Hop Theatre Production

 


advertisement




advertisement




advertisement




advertisement




advertisement



Hip hop theatre version of The Táin runs at The Milk Market, Limerick, 20-25 July 2014

Barry Burke, who plays Cúchulainn in the hip hop theatre retelling of The Táin, presented in association with Limerick City of Culture and Dance Limerick.  The Táin will be performed at The Milk Market, Limerick from 20-25 July at 9pm nightly.  Further info and booking details from www.thetain2014.com and from Limerick City of Culture www.limerickcityofculture.ie. Photo by: Ken Coleman.

Barry Burke, who plays Cúchulainn in the hip hop theatre retelling of The Táin, presented in association with Limerick City of Culture and Dance Limerick. The Táin will be performed at The Milk Market, Limerick from 20-25 July at 9pm nightly. Further info and booking details from www.thetain2014.com and from Limerick City of Culture www.limerickcityofculture.ie. Photo by: Ken Coleman.

A hip hop theatre version of The Táin opens at The Milk Market, Limerick on Sunday 20th July and runs for six nights until Friday 25th July.  Funded by Limerick City of Culture and presented in association with Dance Limerick, this production fuses physical theatre and urban art forms – hip hop dance theatre, rap, graffiti art, film – with performances by a cast of international, national and local artists, to an original soundtrack by MC duo Icarus Rising.  This is the first hip hop theatre production to be produced in Ireland and is being made in Limerick by performance and creative artists from and living in Limerick, in collaboration with leading international guest artists.  Further details and ticket information from www.theTáin2014.com , www.limerickcityofculture.ie and www.dancelimerick.ie

The story:
The city is the state, two tribes collide, a hero emerges.
The epic Irish tale of Cúchulainn and Queen Maeve is launched into today’s simmering underworld of urban turf wars.  Fired by passion and pride, Cúchulainn seeks to defend his territory at all costs.  In this explosive re-imagining of the ancient story, there are scores to be settled, sacrifices to be made and the ultimate prize to be claimed. 

The production:
An exciting mix of national and international creative and performing artists have been brought together by Limerick Director Ciarda Tobin to create this once-off production:
Choreography is by Paul Martin and Conor O’Kane of leading international hip hop theatre company Bad Taste Cru, in collaboration with Limerick dancer and teacher Barry ‘Bazzy B’ Burke;
Original soundtrack is by MC Duo Icarus Rising: Mexy aka CMX (Dundalk) and West Knyle Ambers (Detroit), featuring vocalist Emma Jane Maher  (Dundalk);
Set and Costume Design is by Irish Theatre Award Nominee Emma Fisher (Limerick)
Lighting and AV Design is by Art O’Laoire (Cork);
Film Content is by Shane Serrano (Limerick)

Cast:
Barry ‘Bazzy B’ Burke (Limerick)
Michelle ‘Mystique’ Lukmani (San Francisco)
Darren ‘Jelly’ O’Kane (UK)
Sachith ‘Sam’ Premarathna (Sri Lanka and Dublin)
Nora Rodriguez (Mexico and Limerick)
Chris ‘Fluid Girl’ Young (San Francisco)

Supporting Cast/Cru:
A talented team of intern dancers from the Limerockers Cru, the well-known Limerick based hip hop group, led by Barry Burke, will play various supporting roles in The Táin.

Image by Ken Coleman  www.artofkencoleman.comSpeaking at the announcement of details for The Táin, Director Ciarda Tobin said: “The legend of The Táin is familiar to many people.  We have taken the original story and are re-telling it in the present day.  It’s still a story about power and greed, but the setting is contemporary and is inspired by city life.  We’re really excited to be re-imagining the epic tale through hip hop theatre and are very lucky to be working with amazing collaborators such as Bad Taste Cru – specialists in hip hop theatre – and Barry Burke, who is well known for his work with hip hop groups in Limerick, as well as Icarus Rising, who have created an original soundtrack especially for The Táin.  This is the first hip hop theatre show to be produced in Ireland, so we really hope everyone will come and see what it’s all about.  We have a great team made up of creative and performing artists from all over the world, together with some of Limerick’s finest, and we’re very grateful to Limerick City of Culture whose funding has made this exciting project possible”. 

Sheila Deegan
from Limerick City of Culture added: “Limerick City of Culture is delighted to be able to support such an exciting and innovative production as The Táin.  Ireland is a country with countless tales of myth and folklore and the re-telling of The Táin in Limerick during this year as City of Culture will be a showcase of the creative talent that exists in Limerick. By bringing together Limerick and international creative and performing artists working collaboratively, this production is a unique opportunity for emerging performers to develop their skills and experience together in Limerick, a City of Culture”.

Image by Ken Coleman www.artofkencoleman.comJenny Traynor, Director of Dance Limerick, added: “It’s very exciting to see The Táin production coming together.  Hip hop theatre is a new concept to us, pushing the boundaries of dance, music and theatre to create an exciting new art form.  Dance Limerick is really pleased to be able to support The Táin production and we wish the whole team well”.

 

The Táin is funded by Limerick City of Culture under the Made in Limerick strand, and is presented in association with Dance Limerick.  The Táin will be performed at The Milk Market, Limerick from Sunday 20th to Friday 25th July at 9pm nightly.  Tickets €10.00 / €5.00 (+ booking fee), now available from www.thetáin2014.com, Harpers Coffee House at The Milk Market (market days), Dance Limerick, 1-2 John’s Square / 061- 467813 or on the door (subject to availability).

THE TAIN LAUNCH

Photos by Caleb Purcell for ILoveLimerick.com 2014. All Rights Reserved.

IF YOU WANT TO BUY PRINTS OF ANY PHOTOS, THE PHOTOGRAPHER WILL SELL THEM TO YOU. If you hold you mouse over the photo it will give you a photo number and the name of the photographer is on the photo. Email both to [email protected] and we will connect you to the photographer so you can buy the print directly from them. Thank you.

 

 

Richard is a presenter, producer, songwriter and actor. He was named the Limerick Person of the Year (2011) and won an online award at the Metro Éireann Media and Multicultural Awards (2011) for promoting multi-culturalism online. Richard says that the ilovelimerick.com concept is very much a community driven project that aims to document life in Limerick. So, that in 20 years time people can look back and remember the events that were making the headlines.

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.