‘Loch na hEala’ coming to Sydney

Michael Keegan-Dolan's reimagined Swan LakeThe acclaimed Irish work Swan Lake/Loch na hEala will make its Australian debut at the Sydney Opera House in late August, direct from European stages.

 

Straddling theatre, movement and live music, Swan Lake/Loch na hEala is a bold reimagining of one of ballet’s most popular stories by acclaimed choreographer, director and Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Michael Keegan-Dolan.

 

Keegan-Dolan’s Swan Lake/Loch na hEala transports audiences to the heart of the Irish Midlands, where ancient mythology and the modern world collide, and the Irish legend of the Children of Lir melds with this classic tale.

 

The story, rich in mystery and folklore, is elevated by a hauntingly beautiful soundscape by Dublin-based trio Slow Moving Clouds.

 

Sydney Opera House’s Head of Contemporary Performance Danielle Harvey stated, “Swan Lake/Loch na hEala is a valiant, visionary work. It’s daring, funny, astoundingly expressive and it typifies the kind of brave, genre-straddling work the new Contemporary Performance area at Sydney Opera House has been established to present. It is a work tailor-made for people who like theatre, movement, music and storytelling that is complex and enlarges your perspective.”

 

Australian audiences will be familiar with Keegan-Dolan’s productions of Giselle (Sydney Festival 2010) and Rian (Sydney Festival 2013), groundbreaking works that infused well-known stories with an explosively contemporary energy.

 

Keegan-Dolan’s company, recently transformed as Teaċ Daṁsa, brings 13 world-renowned performers – including actor Mikel Murfi (The Walworth Farce, Sydney, 2010) and Elizabeth Cameron Dalman OAM, founder of Australian Dance Theatre – to the Drama Theatre stage for a raw, cathartic and joyful experience.

 

For more information, visit www.sydneyoperahouse.com. Performances will run August 30 – September 2. Tickets are now on sale to the general public.

 

Photo courtesy of the Sydney Opera House.