SCORCHED EARTH

Co-Production with Dublin Dance Festival and Galway International Arts Festival

Premiere- May 2025. Dates TBA

Ireland marks a century of independence the ghosts of our history linger. Ireland is ever more concerned with development and progress, and this progress is ever more defined as built infrastructure. While the pandemic upended common expectations around where we work, live and interact, how the land is used retains its almost gravitational significance.

What right do we have to the land beneath our feet?

What would we do to keep it?

Parochialism, fear of the outsider and a deeply set desire to own, wander like shadows around a society grappling with modern questions of population, housing equality, opportunity and national identity. Inspired by the John B Keane’s seminal work The Field, Scorched Earth imagines a detective reopening a cold case, an unsolved crime twelve years after the fact. As stories are revisited and old wounds are opened The Detective and Suspect fall into a world of memory, fantasy, guilt and resentment.

Credits:

Direction, Writing and Choreography: Luke Murphy

Set and Costume Design: Alyson Cummins

Lighting Design: Stephen Dodd

Composition and Sound Design: Rob Moloney

Audio Visual Design: Patricio Cassinoni

Rehearsal Director: Stephen Moynihan

Produced by: Gwen Van Spyk

Cast:

Ryan O’Neil, Sarah Dowling, Tyler Carney

Production of Scorched Earth is funded by a 2025 Arts Council of Ireland Arts Grant Award with co-production support from Dublin Dance Festival and Galway International Arts Festival and residential support through Dance Cork Firkin Crane as part of the 2024/2025 DAIR Award.

Development of Scorched Earth was supported through the following organisations and awards:

Arts Council of Ireland Arts Grant Awards 2022-2024. 2022 DanceCorkFirkinCrane Ceist Residency. 2023 Greenwich University, Bathwat Theatre Artist in Residence Award. Townhall Theatre Galway- Black Box Theatre Residencies 2023 and 2024. Cork City Council Arts Office R&D Project Award 2022. Cork City Coucil Arts Office- Residency Crypt at St Luke’s 2024. Shawbrook Residential Company Space Award 2024, Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre DAIR 2023.

Scorched Earth is created in collaboration with the cast with additional creative contributions through R&D periods with Conor Dougherty, Ursula Robb, Orla McCarthy, Kath Duggan, Knut Vikstrom Precht, Sharol McKenzie, Will Thompson, Gina Moxely, Ray Scannell, Diarmuid Armstrong, Ed Mitchell, Seirian Griffith, Theo Arran and Rosie Stebbing.