THE MYSTERIES
Based on the Bible, The Mysteries is a spectacular re-imagining of the Medieval Mystery plays. A man is hanging on a cross - his mind in turmoil. Was his life worth it? Should he have lived it differently? Before breathing his last, the story of his life plays out before him in a kaleidoscope of Old and New Testament images and characters. With his final breath he has found the answers. The Mysteries was a collaboration between Macnas and The Belgrade Theatre, Coventry featuring a cast of over 90. The result of almost a year's planning and exchange this large scale community cast work was presented as a spectacular open-air production.

GRAINNE MHAOL
Grainne Mhaol was a whole new experience for participants and audiences alike. The inspiration for Macnas’ production was the life of Grace O’Malley, better known as Grainne Mhaol the Pirate Queen, a defiant woman in a changing world. Her story was the centrepiece of this large-scale performance and the backdrop for many anarchic and surprising street events which appeared throughout the city at various times and places. Macnas developed this landmark production using a unique combination of professional and community performers in one of its most ambitious projects ever.

THE LOST DAYS OF OLLIE DEASY

A blind man gets on a bus and informs the passangers that he will be their driver. A young man gets on the bus with his girlfriend. His name is Terry Deasy. He's on a mission to find his father. Ollie Deasy is a former hurling hero who went off to play an exhibition match some time ago and hasn't been heard of since. The bus pulls off and drives into the night. An odyssey begins...

Winner of Best Irish Theatre Production at the Dublin Theatre Festival in 2000

THE ODYSSEY
The visit to Galway in the mid 1980s of the Spanish Street Theatre group, Els Comediants and their performance of "Devils" has long been written into local folklore as a turning point in the city's culture. Their energy, vibrancy and anarchy were the sparks that ignited Macnas and in 1999 the St. Patrick's Festival afforded Macnas the opportunity to collaborate with Comediants in the nation's capital. The inspiration for the work was Homer's Odyssey, via Joyce's Ulysses, with a large dose of the imagination of two highly creative companies. The show was staged at the Fusiller's Arch at Stephen's Green and began with live chat show, hosted by Telemachas, who told the story of his father, Ulysses. When Ulysses appeared the audience were led through the narrow streets of Dublin where they encountered Hades, the Lestrygonians, six headed monsters, the Cyclops and the seductive music of the Sirens, before being led back to the main-stage for a spectacular finale. This production proved so popular that it was repeated the following March at College Green for an even bigger audience.

DIAMONDS IN THE SOIL

Also in 1998, Macnas premiered a unique vision of a unique artist. "Diamonds In The Soil" saw Macnas explore the life and work of Vincent Van Gogh through an exciting new collaboration led by artist Patrick O'Reilly and director Mikel Murfi. The production was a stunning combination of masks, movement, design, lighting and performances and contained some of the most memorable and moving images ever created by Macnas. The Irish Times described it as " a visual allegory of the mind in disarray, disturbing and persuasive". Antonio Gil Martinez brilliantly portrayed Van Gogh and, together with a highly inventive team, brought to life the story of this tortured genius. The production opened in the Dublin Theatre Festival where it played to capacity audiences before touring nationally in October and November. The show was also remarkable for its brilliant and evocative lighting design by David Murphy.

Winner of Best Production Design Dublin Theatre Festival 1998

THE DEAD SCHOOL

In July 1998, Macnas and Galway Arts Festival came together to present "The Dead School" by Patrick McCabe. The production featured Mick Lally in the role of Raphael Bell, the old-style national school teacher whose life is haunted by images and memories from his past. The show was directed by Joe O'Byrne and was nominated in two categories for The Irish Times ESB Theatre Awards where Tom Conroy triumphed winning Best Set Design for his highly imaginative stage design. The production was critically acclaimed for its strongly visual and theatrical interpretation and after its original sell out run in Galway, it was revived the following year for an eight week Irish tour, which included two weeks at Dublin's Olympia Theatre. On tour the show was seen by over 12,500 people nation-wide.

Winner Best Set Design Dublin Theatre Festival 1998

RHYMES FROM THE ANCIENT MARINER
In a major departure on a number of fronts, Macnas created Rhymes from the Ancient Mariner in the new Black Box Performance Space in Galway for the 1996 Galway Arts Festival. Set in both 1950's Galway and in 1798, the show followed the voyage of Coleridge's Mariner from the Antarctic Ice Flows to the Saragossa Sea. Blending fire, ice, rain and snow it conjured up a fantastic theatrical world of moving ice-bergs, tall ships, an 'albatross' on a trapeze and other surprises. This was an exciting, large-scale promenade production directed by Rod Goodall, adapted by writer Trish Forde, with music by John Dunne and design by Ger Sweeney.

BALOR

Balor, the final part of the Celtic Trilogy of theatre pieces, premiered in November 1995 at the newly opened Town Hall Theatre, Galway. The show retold the story of Balor, a mythical Celtic Cyclops who ruled the island of Tory off the Donegal coast and who, it was prophesied, would be slain by his grandson Lú. Balor was a stunning combination of colour, music and spectacular visual imagery which The Irish Times described as "An unqualified triumph." Balor toured to Bogota, Columbia in March, 1996 and Ireland in the Autumn of that year. In 1997, the production visited Mayfest in Glasgow, and toured four cities on the west coast of United States, in September and October. For this production the company's core creative protagonists were augmented by artist and designer Ger Sweeney.

BUILE SHUIBHNE/SWEENY
Following the success of Táin, the Macnas team came together in the summer of 1994 to create a new theatre piece. Buile Shuibhne/Sweeny was based on the story of the pagan King Sweeny of Antrim, his dispute with the Christian Abbot Ronan and Sweeny's eventual descent into madness. Once more Macnas created a theatrical triumph which toured Ireland, France and the United States and won Best Irish Production Award at the Dublin Theatre Festival for the second time. Again the original concept came from Páraic Breathnach and was developed by the company using the combined talents of director Rod Goodall, composer John Dunne and designer Owen MacCarthaigh.

TÁIN
With its premiere at EXPO '92 in Seville, Spain, Táin heralded the creation of a new form of Irish Theatre for the World stage. While eschewing language and dialogue, Táin combined the elements of movement, live music and dynamic design with the world of the 8th Century Ulster Cycle of stories. Macnas brought a new perspective to the ancient Celtic story of Queen Medb of Connacht, King Concubar of Ulster and their respective heroes Ferdia and Cuchulainn that moved and amazed audiences in Spain, Ireland and Britain. Táin was nominated for a special UNESCO Award at EXPO and went on to be named Best Irish Production at the 1992 Dublin Theatre Festival. The production was adapted by Páraic Breathnach, directed by Rod Goodall and featured an original score by John Dunne.

EARLY DAYS
Since it was founded in 1986, Macnas has established a reputation in Ireland and overseas for the energy and spectacle it brings to its unique performances. With shows like Alice In Wonderland (1989), Treasure Island (1990) and Circus Story (1991), Macnas took the energy of the street and brought it indoors to unusual venues such as disused garages, deserted warehouses and old cinemas. These shows were unashamedly aimed at a family audience and at making the theatrical experience exciting, inspiring and accessible. Over the years Macnas has refined this energy to create one of the most original voices in Irish theatre with a distinctive style that is highly visual, physical and inventive. The company's impressive repertoire of theatrical productions includes: