Halloween puppet show at Kildare arts centre
Spooky Puca in action
THE award-winning Púca Puppets have timed their spooky arrival to Halloween season with their new show ‘The Holding Bones’ which comes to the Riverbank Theatre in Newbridge on 14 November.
“In an artist’s studio, shadows talk, objects come alive and she draws her very bones to overcome loss and celebrate love and the cycle of life,” explains Helen Whiteley, marketing manager at the theatre.
“It’s poetry, and heart and soul food,” she added.
‘The Holding Bones’ lovingly recalls a host of characters — songsters, storytellers and mischief makers, and by paying playful homage to her ancestors Niamh Lawlor contemplates the purpose of life. Her life.
Set in her studio she draws upon her skills as a puppet maker and visual artist to enrich the tale she has to tell, as funny as it is deeply moving.
A new original piece from Púca for adults, ‘The Holding Bones’ is a fitting celebration of Samhain, All Soul’s and The Day of the Dead.
At this time of year, they say, the veil between our world and the next is at its thinnest,” said Niamh.
“Once we would have set an extra place at the table, left the door unlocked and lit a candle for each of our loved lost kin at Halloween and remembered our dearly departed throughout the month of November."
In this new show, Niamh, a veteran performer from Púca for nearly 30 years, counts her ancestors on her very bones and brings them back to life on stage.
Vital theatrical storytelling invites you to meditate on family, memory and rituals of grieving and how to embrace the bittersweet turns of the cycle of life.
The Holding Bones will be performed at Riverbank Arts Centre on Thursday 14 November at 8pm. Tickets are priced €15/€12 and can be booked through the Box Office, either in person or by telephone on 045 448327 Monday to Friday 9.30am-5pm (closed for lunch 2-2.30) and Saturday 10am-1pm.
