rEVOLUTION is a new work born out of the ongoing collaboration between the National Folk Theatre performing company, dance artist Cindy Cummings and visual artist Andrew Duggan. The work travels a non-narrative journey from urban to rural landscapes, metaphoric and real, fusing the unique Kerry Munnix style of traditional dance with contemporary dance.

The relationship between live presence, sound and projected images conveys a lateral translation of inherited folk knowledge. rEVOLUTION aims to investigate the potential to redefine and reinvent the creative vocabulary of folk theatre in a contemporary Irish context. The project has been funded throughout by The Arts Council.

rEVOLUTION commenced in 2004 with a research and development phase which took place over 8 weeks and developed into a radical look at folk theatre in the context of the history and memory of Siamsa Tíre.

During 2005, this process was developed with further investigation of some of the initial ideas during a four week workshop process. Spending time in alternative spaces, away from the 'comfort zone' of the known spaces of Siamsa Tíre, brought the project to Dublin and Cloghane in West Kerry, new and alternative environments.

As part of the project, members of Siamsa Tíre, The National Folk Theatre of Ireland under the direction of Dance Master - Jonathan Kelliher, along with visual artist, Andrew Duggan, dance artist, Cindy Cummings and curator, Ciaran Walsh, workshopped in Dublin, based in the Mission Hall on Abbey Street. The focus here was on exploring the rural and urban of folk, examining the vertical landscape of a cityscape in contrast with time spent in Cloghane, where the focus shifted to the horizontal nature of the rural landscape.

rEVOLUTION is a multi-disciplinary, process-based, collaborative project which explodes many preconceptions about the nature of 'folk' and breaks down some of the perceived barriers between artforms. rEVOLUTION is Jonathan Kelliher, Joanne Barry, Robert Heaslip, Ann Herbert, Honor Hurley and Tom Hanafin (The National Folk Theatre), Ciaran Walsh (Siamsa Tíre Theatre and Arts Centre), Cindy Cummings (dance artist) and Andrew Duggan (Visual Artist).

rEVOLUTION was recently presented in the Round Room at the Mansion House as part of the Dublin Fringe Festival 2005.

Siamsa Tíre gratefully acknowledges the support of Cork Kerry Tourism and Tralee Town Council.