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

The Falling Song
Michael Seaver

Wednesday May 23, 2012
Dublin Dance Festival: Project Arts Centre, Dublin

There are a few key ingredients that contribute to the continuing success of dance troupe Junk Ensemble, and many were evident in their latest production The Falling Song: a strong visual sense, with Aedin Cosgrove's set commanding centre stage; a cast of children that bring both jack rabbit anima and full-throated singing to the proceedings; and an understated movement vocabulary that prides subtlety over rhetoric.

Most of all, as with all their dances to date, choreographers Jessica and Megan Kennedy are happy to let images, sounds and movement sit side-by-side until they coalesce into something mythical.
An elegant simplicity permeates their work, a way of presenting the ordinary with a sense of clarity and profundity. In The Falling Song, a simple metaphor of falling is weaved into the proceedings. There are hints of falling in (and out) of love through Jesse Kovarsky's singing, dozens of apples littering the stage, and a hilarious low-tech Icarus sequence complete with cardboard cut-out clouds.

Bubbling beneath, there is also a sub-plot considering male identity. The excellent cast of four male dancers - Kovarsky, Omar Gordon, Eddie Kay and Carl Harrison - display macho bravado with ebullient back-slapping when in the herd, but vulnerable isolation when alone. The primal culture is aided by Denis Clohessy's score (performed with aplomb by George Higgs), which can drag down the action with electro-gloom, only to raise it again moments later by the updraughts of joyous singing from the members of Piccolo Lasso childrens choir.

As the dancers fall motionless from the top of the set to mattresses below, there is the depressingly obvious overtone of suicide, but a more positive emotion also emerges. Falling is seen less an accident, but more an action one chooses to do - the brave abandonment behind letting yourself fall. That sense of release, of letting go and giving in to fate, is what supplies the hope that is never far from the darkness.

THE IRISH TIMES review of The Falling Song, 2012