Religion is a subject that many choreographers and artists might choose to stay away from. However, in reference to Tabernacle which explores authority and control through the Irish Catholic Church, Fearghus O’Conchuir states that he does not wish to speak for others, or draw on experiences that are not his. Using his own knowledge of the Catholic Church as well as ideas exchanged through open rehearsals across Ireland, O’Conchuir tries to question issues surrounding the church, whilst recognising that his physicality is not just a product of the dance studio, but imprints from his cultural background also.


Using a completely stripped-back, blank canvas of a stage (and some wooden crate-like benches), the dancers dissolved any notion that the audience were a separate entity to them; whether that was through sitting amongst us or talking directly to us. They dipped in and out of free-flowing , upward-focussed movement or jolty and erratic phrases and combined them with unmistakable religious references made throughout the piece; it was often quite clear that the dancers were recreating ancient paintings of biblical stories. Various choreographic additions which probably wouldn’t shock a seasoned contemporary dance viewer also featured in this work, including nudity and spitting on the set, which I’m not entirely convinced were necessary. The most engaging parts of this piece for me were the times the dancers weaved and clung their way around each other and the benches, yet managed to still travel without us really noticing until they’d reached their destination. It was during these moments that I felt the dancers looked like marooned ship wrecks. This was set off by Irish music which was equally as haunting as it was pretty.


You could not describe Tabernacle as entertainment, which I’m sure is entirely what it was not supposed to be. Although there are dark undercurrents to this piece, I found it left me feeling quite uplifted as the dancers resembled a network of support to one another, as well as a means of survival. Although some sections of the movement vocabulary far outshone others, this piece definitely caused the audience to think about its intention without being too explicit about what it was trying to say or what we should be left thinking.