Monday 2 November 2015

Ship of Fools at Hallowe'en '15

Could it really have taken 8 hours to sing one verse of Danny Boy? Yes, if you sing it low and slow, in canon and in ostenato, spending the evening in a cellar as a zombie creeper...

We were asked to take past in the Hallowe'en weekend opening of the repurposed Town Hall in Cavan. We worked with Robbie Blake, choral director of Tonnta Music. We rehearsed in the Kilmore, and at the "secret location", exploring how we cold get an ethereal effect with which to spook and delight our audiences on the night. Robbie helped us to evolve Danny Boy into Splinter Boy, and gave us confidence to sing a short series of notes in canon to great effect, blending with Robbie Perry's samba drummers to create a really macabre finale to the performance - outdoors in the dark of the courtyard, lit by candles.

The location turned out to be the transformed empty See House at Kilmore. The show was called the Ship of Fools, and ran four times over the evening. Our audience arrived by coach, and were treated to over 20 non-stop mini-shows as they were led through the house. This show was the flagship of the 4 day Festival of the Dead concieved by the Gonzo Theatre and trans art.

All that can be said is - you had to be there, and we can't wait to see the professional video. In the meantime, thanks to Ciaran Murray for posting a video of the basement singing here.

Some of the singers also took part in the dance sequences in the reception rooms, and the musical drama on the first floor.

All in all, we were delighted to have been part of this unique happening. Have a look....