Rooted in Irish folklore and her personal family history, visionary choreographer Oona Doherty returns to Dublin Dance Festival and the Abbey stage with her new show, Specky Clark.

An unflinching blend of fiction and biography where myth and reality overlap, Specky Clark traces the journey of Oona’s great-great-grandfather as he arrives in Belfast. Lifting the veil on a Halloween night, nine international dancers breathe life into this powerful narrative that unfolds through a series of striking theatrical images.

For Oona there is a raw and personal connection to the vulnerability of the flesh. Her father worked in the city’s abattoir, while her mother’s family ran a butcher’s shop in the heart of Belfast. Walls are built from grief and walls built a hard man. Poor Specky.

With music by Maxime Fraisse, incorporating both new and existing tracks from the award-winning contemporary Irish folk band Lankum, Specky Clark brings together an outstanding creative team that includes set designer Sabine Dargent and lighting designer John Gunning.

Co-production: Ballet Preljocaj / CCN Aix- en-Provence (FR), Dublin Dance Festival & The Abbey Theatre (IE), Sadler’s Wells London (UK), Kampnagel Hambourg (DE), Festspielhaus St. Pölten (AU), Théâtre de la Ville Paris (FR), Tanz Köln (DE), MC2: Grenoble (FR), CCN-Ballet national de Marseille (FR).

Residencies: Ballet Preljocaj / CCN Aix- en-Provence, KLAP-Maison pour la Danse Marseille, CCN-Ballet national de Marseille (accueil studio).

Interspaces: Lunchtime talk with Oona Doherty 

Thursday, 15 May from 12:30pm – 2pm. Booking: Click here.