Irish Wake Amusements is a solo performance that resurrects a forgotten chapter of Irish history — one where grief was met not just with tears, but with mischief. Drawn from a by the same title, chronicling the unruly games once played at lengthy Irish wakes, the show takes audiences back to a time when mourners passed the long hours of mourning with contests of strength, skill, and good-natured competition, using nothing but everyday household items.

Frowned upon by the Church and eventually lost to time, these curious traditions — with names like ‘Lifting the Corpse’, ‘Walking on the Legs of a Stool’, and ‘Donkeys & Baskets’ — vanished from Irish life.

Until now.

​Part history, part spectacle, Irish Wake Amusements invites the public to do more than watch — they're called to participate. The solo performer, armed with props and mischief, coaxes players from the crowd to step forward, breathing life back into both the old games and newly devised ones such as ‘Drunken Fools’, ‘The Guillotine’, and ‘An Irish Waltz’. It's a celebration of the unexpected — a reminder that even in the most sombre of moments, joy has a way of creeping in.

CREATIVE TEAM

Concept & Performance
Rob Heaslip

Creative Producer
Helen McIntosh

Dramaturgy & Movement Direction
​Kristyn Fontanella

Sound Design
Eilon Morris

Production Manager
Fi Fraser

Photography
​Brian Harley & Oana Filipov