A dance triple bill interweaving the contemporary and traditional returns to Gola Island. Na Mic Ua gCorra and Ériu continue their exploration of landscape, belonging, and the fragile relationship between people and place. Arts Council International Residency Awardee Rob Heaslip presents new work inspired by Irish Wake Amusements, a book chronicling the unruly games once played by people to pass the time at Irish funerals. Mateusz “Matt” Szczerek, a Polish, Dublin-based dance artist, choreographer, and artistic director for Human Collective, known for blending street dance, Krump, and contemporary styles presents his solo work-in-progress Memory of The Skin.

The Unleaving – Na Mic Ua gCorra 2026

Working Concept

Returning to Gola Island for their annual Earagail Arts Festival residency, Na Mic Ua gCorra and Ériu continue their exploration of landscape, belonging, and the fragile relationship between people and place. This year’s work reflects on lives shaped by absence – particularly those who sustained island communities while others left in search of work and opportunity elsewhere.

Set within the liminality of the vast Atlantic horizon and the lure of the mainland with its promise of security and modernity, the performance explores the tension between leaving and staying: the pull of distant places and the quiet power of the island itself. The tolling of the Angelus, traditional song and music, and contemporary electronic textures weave through the choreography, echoing older rhythms of island life alongside the excitement and momentum of the modern world.

In a time when the digital world constantly invites us elsewhere, the work becomes a quiet allegory for lives increasingly pulled away from place. It asks what it means to remain present – to resist the pull of curated realities and rediscover the grounding force of landscape, community, and the simple beauty of place. Here, staying becomes its own quiet resistance – embodied by the unleft.

Wake Amusements

There is a book, named Irish Wake Amusements, which chronicles the unruly games once playedby people to pass the time at lengthy Irish wakes.

Rob Heaslip invites you to enjoy feats of agility and merriment once conjured to entertain the visitors who had come to pay their respects to the deceased. 

Often frowned upon, these games were guilty pleasures to amuse oneself at an otherwise sanctified and respectful affair.The Catholic Church banned many of the games, and they eventually died out.Until now.

Until now.

Credits

• Concept & Performance: Rob Heaslip
• Creative Producer: Helen McIntosh
• Dramaturgy & Movement Direction: Kristyn Fontanella
• Production Manager: Fi Fraser

Memory Of The Skin

Mateusz “Matt” Szczerek is a Polish Dublin-based dance artist, choreographer, and artistic director for Human Collective, known for blending street dance, Krump, and contemporary styles.  Matt is a professional member of Dance Ireland and ISACS.  He is the curator and artistic director of the D2C LAB series in partnership with Dance Ireland, Luail, the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance and Promenade.  

He regularly performs with CoisCéim Dance Theatre and leads international circus and dance collective Kundle Cru.   Recent choreographer credits include Shell (Matt Szczerek & Simone O’Toole), Birds, Blame Game (Kundle Cru), Monsters (Matt Szczerek & Alessio Motta).  He also performed with CoisCéim’s 2024 production Palimpsest.