The Holding Bones by Puca at Wexford Arts Centre

What to Expect

The Holding Bones is an original piece for adult audiences from Puca, written and performed by Niamh Lawlor, who has been working as a performer and puppet maker for close to thirty years. It plays Wexford Arts Centre on Monday 26 October at 7:30 PM and Tuesday 27 October at 2:30 PM, timed to Samhain and All Souls’ Day.

The show is set in an artist’s studio, and it combines puppetry, visual art and storytelling. Shadows talk, objects come alive, and the artist on stage draws her own bones as a way of counting her ancestors and bringing them back into the room. The characters she summons are described as the songsters, storytellers and mischief makers of her own life, and the piece works as a meditation on grief, love and the cycle of life rather than a conventional narrative play. Emma Finegan directs, with Veronica Coburn as dramaturg, Lian Bell as artist and Sinead Diskin on sound and music. The production has toured to venues including the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin and is supported by the Arts Council and DLR County Council. It is rated 16 plus.

Good to Know

• Performances: Monday 26 October at 7:30 PM and Tuesday 27 October at 2:30 PM.
• Venue: Wexford Arts Centre, Cornmarket, Wexford town.
• Age suitability 16 plus.
• Written and performed by Niamh Lawlor. Directed by Emma Finegan. Produced by Puca.
• Ticket prices are not published on the arts centre listing. Confirm when booking.
• Book through the Wexford Arts Centre website or on 053 912 3764.

Getting There

Wexford Arts Centre is in the Cornmarket in the pedestrian centre of Wexford town, a few minutes’ walk up from the quays. Drive in on the N11 from Dublin and Gorey or the N25 from New Ross and Rosslare Europort. Wexford O’Hanrahan railway station, on the Dublin Connolly to Rosslare Europort line, is about ten minutes on foot. The 2:30 PM matinee on the Tuesday is easier for parking than the Monday evening, and the quay front car parks are the reliable option either way.