New dance at Sadler’s Wells: Oona Doherty’s Specky Clark is here

Sadler’s Wells Theatre is set to host the UK premiere of Specky Clark, the latest creation by the acclaimed choreographer and Associate Artist Oona Doherty. Running from Friday 9 to Saturday 10 May, the production marks a homecoming of sorts, bringing Doherty’s bold and evocative dance theatre to a London audience for the first time. First premiering in Aix-en-Provence last November, Specky Clark blends biographical and fictional storytelling to explore Doherty’s family history. At the heart of the piece is her Great Great Grandfather Specky Clark and his arrival in Belfast. Through surreal, theatrical imagery, Doherty unravels family tales spanning docks work, backyard pig-keeping, abattoirs, and butcher shops, all threaded together with Irish mythology and folklore. Set on Samhain (Halloween), when the veil between worlds is thinnest, the production dives into questions of ancestry, identity, and the fragility of sanity. Bringing this vivid vision to life is an international cast of nine dancers, with gender-swapped roles adding a modern twist. The production draws inspiration from sources as varied as Animal Farm, The Blind Boy Podcast, and Francis Bacon’s paintings. Mercury Prize-nominated Irish band Lankum provides the haunting soundtrack, while the creative team includes Maxime Jerry Fraisse on sound design, playwright Enda Walsh as dramaturg, Sabine Dargent as scenographer, and lighting by Doherty’s long-time collaborator John Gunning. Excited to debut the work to a London crowd, Oona Doherty said, “This will be the first time Specky will play to an English speaking audience. I am super excited and curious to see how it lands here in… Read More