Since 2019, we have been developing a new Irish language theatre/film/music project called Éist Liom (listen to me) in a co-production with the Abbey Theatre. We are collaborating with writer Shaun Dunne, taking inspiration from the city and from the opera Carmen. It's a story about bad communication. We are Irish speakers that have lost it a bit. This piece will try and tell a new story using a language that we love.
The theatre piece was to be presented at Cork Midsummer Festival and Dublin Theatre Festival 2020.
When COVID changed everything, over two years, we adapted Éist liom into a film that we shot with Jose Miguel Jimenez at the Peacock Theatre in August 2021. We are in the editing process and we can wait to share what we made.
Éist liom, inspired by the story of Carmen, also has a life as an album, and we made Dúirt Tú and Tar Anseo as companion pieces. We are proud to be making contemporary Irish language work with a diverse collective of artists.
Development has been supported by Pan Pan International Mentorship programme, Project Arts Centre, Axis Ballymun, Arts Council of Ireland, Dublin City Council Incubation Space award, WP Zimmer Antwerp, Dublin City Council, Foras na Gaeilge, Ealaín na Gaeltachta and the Abbey Theatre.
We completed a two month residency on Cape Clear, Co. Cork as part of Oileán AiR Irish language artist’s residency (October 2019). Here’s some photos of the process by Wolf James. Thanks to Ruairi O’Donobháin for his support and guidance as part of the residency. We have been back to Cape over the last two years, developing a connection between the island and our Irish language work. We are grateful to the community there and the Comharchumman’s ongoing support for the project.
