Mourning is a Muscle
“ It was strange how it started.
How the urge came about
but it definitely was an urge.
A twist in my instinct.”
In the still shock of the 2020 London lockdown, Barry began writing letters to their father. He had died four years earlier. A simple mourning ritual grew and allowed Barry to move again.
Mourning is a Muscle is the culmination of those letters, a denim-drenched journey through grief, connection, queerness, and lineage - part performance, part installation. Focusing on the relationship of a father and queer child, and a story of a long-empty farm, it fuses movement, music, design and ritual. Playfully delving into gender, how we carry the landscape of home, and the joy of moving as our true selves.
From Annie Lennox to Neil Diamond, Carlow fields to London lockdown, line dancing to lip-syncing - it moves across time and place, landing in tender and electric moments. A call to witness mourning in all its forms: spectacular, ordinary, and everything in between.
Nominated for four awards at Dublin Fringe Festival 2026, including Best Design, and winner of the Visionary Award, given to artists breaking new boundaries.
The pace, dancing, context setting, portrayal of mixed emotions, rawness and energy of this performance all came together to create something wonderful and deeply touching... I couldn’t fault it.
★★★★★ The Reviews Hub
Touching dance-theatre depiction of grief, mapping a queer person’s relationship with their father.
★★★★ Chris McCormack (Feeling Good)
Dates:
Dublin Fringe Festival, 9 - 12 Sept 2026 at Project Arts Centre
Carlow Arts Festival, 31 May - 1 June 2026.