Articles and Reviews
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THE IRISH TIMES review of The Bystander, Dublin Theatre Festival 2018

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THE REVIEWS HUB review of The Bystander, Dublin Theatre Festival 2018

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THE ARTS REVIEW review of The Bystander, Dublin Theatre Festival 2018

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IRISH TIMES review of Man At The Door (Number 54), Cork Midsummer Festival 2018

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IRISH TIMES review of Dolores, Dublin Dance Festival 2018

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IRISH INDEPENDENT review of Dolores, Dublin Dance Festival 2018

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EXEUNT MAGAZINE review of Dolores, Dublin Dance Festival 2018

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THE ARTS REVIEW review of Dolores, Dublin Dance Festival 2018

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THE BIG LIST NI review of Soldier Still, Dublin Fringe Festival 2017

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THE IRISH TIMES review of Soldier Still, Dublin Fringe Festival 2017

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THE ARTS REVIEW review of Soldier Still, Dublin Fringe Festival 2017

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EXEUNT MAGAZINE review of Soldier Still, Dublin Fringe Festival 2017

THE REVIEWS HUB review of Soldier Still, Dublin Fringe Festival 2017

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THE SCOTSMAN review of It Folds, Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2016

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THE STAGE review of It Folds, Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2016

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THE HERALD review of It Folds, Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2016

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EXAMINER.COM review of Walking Pale, 2016

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THE IRISH TIMES review of Dusk Ahead, 2015

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THE IRISH TIMES review of It Folds, 2015

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THE STATE OF THE ARTS review of It Folds, 2015

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BROADWAY WORLD review of It Folds, 2015

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LE COOL review of It Folds, 2015

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THE NEW YORK TIMES review of Dusk Ahead, 2015

TANZ MAGAZIN review of The Falling Song, 2014

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EXEUNT MAZAZINE review of The Falling Song, 2014

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THE PUBLIC REVIEWS review of The Falling Song, 2014

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THE STAGE review of The Falling Song, 2014

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THE IRISH TIMES review of Dusk Ahead, 2013

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THE SUNDAY TIMES review of Dusk Ahead, 2013

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EXAMINER.COM review of Dusk Ahead, 2013

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IRISH THEATRE MAGAZINE review of Dusk Ahead, 2013

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IRISH INDEPENDENT review of Dusk Ahead, 2013

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THE IRISH TIMES feature on junk ensemble and Dusk Ahead, 2013

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IRISH EXAMINER review of Dusk Ahead, 2013

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THE IRISH TIMES review of The Falling Song, 2012

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IRISH THEATRE MAGAZINE review of The Falling Song, 2012

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RACHEL DONNELLY review of The Falling Song, 2012

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TOTALLY DUBLIN review of Bird with boy, 2012

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THE SUNDAY TIMES review of Bird with boy, 2011

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IRISH THEATRE MAGAZINE review of Bird with boy, 2011

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THE IRISH TIMES review of Bird with boy, 2011

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THE VIEW on RTE TELEVISION review of Five Ways to Drown, 2010

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THE IRISH TIMES review of Five Ways to Drown, 2010

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IRISH THEATRE MAGAZINE review of Five Ways to Drown, 2010

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THE IRISH INDEPENDENT review of Five Ways to Drown, 2010

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IRISH HERALD review of Five Ways to Drown, 2010

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DANCE EUROPE review of Drinking Dust, 2009

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THE IRISH TIMES review of Drinking Dust, 2008

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THE METRO review of Drinking Dust, 2008

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IRISH THEATRE MAGAZINE review of Drinking Dust, 2008

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THE IRISH TIMES review of The Rain Party, 2007

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THE IRISH INDEPENDENT review of The Rain Party, 2007

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THE METRO review of The Rain Party, 2007

EXEUNT MAGAZINE

SOLDIER STILL

DUBLIN FRINGE FESTIVAL

Chris McCormack

12 September 2017

Carried aloft towards a floating military jacket, Tom Clonan appears to be returning to his old life as an army captain. In reality, the author known for exposing sexual assault in the Irish military now finds himself in Junk Ensemble’s excellent new dance production, Soldier Still, which attempts something extraordinary: a choreography that charts soldiers’ training for violence.

As Lucia Kickham’s woman jitters anxiously through her drill exercises, it is clear that usual routines are to be made uncanny through Jessica Kennedy and Megan Kennedy’s choreography. This, their most explicitly political work, suspends the absurdist visuals of past productions, favouring instead Sabine Dargent’s sparse warzone-inspired set. Musically, Denis Clohessy’s clawing strings hint at the impending psychodrama for men and women going to war and bringing the experience home with them.

Onstage, Clonan’s captain watches on, instigating violent duets and quartets between dancers whose movements are guarded and anxious. The military cultivates a masculine culture of intimidation, we’re told, and it’s frightfully realised. When Julie Koenig’s woman seeks entry into the rest of the group, she’s initially warned off with barks and jostles. The reprisals then become ruthless and hard to watch in an attack that, literally, gets under her skin. Even when the attackers are gone, her body is still suffering.

Throughout, the dehumanising aspects of the production are particularly stirring. Fernando Balsera Pita’s soldier, whose face has become unrecognisable by being cloaked in tape, has found a mask to hide his blood-soaked persona from view. Yet in a duet with Geir Hytten’s man, their lifts loosen from detached training exercises into a more intimate embrace, a rare moment of human contact and connection that vacates the piece as quickly as it arrived.

Spiralling towards its end, Junk Ensemble’s mapping of violence reaches a natural conclusion. A visceral quartet plays out like a brutal tournament, dropping bodies one by one, but the person left standing isn’t declared the winner. Instead, Clonan’s captain gets an icy and angular solo demanding “Come back,” even though everything’s fallen into ruin. The military order cries out in a lonely wasteland. His act of destruction is complete.

EXEUNT MAGAZINE review of Soldier Still, Dublin Fringe Festival 2017