Bóín Dé – Ladybird Gamelan Spréacha Geala
With Fiona Kelleher & George Hanover
Character design by Inge van Doorslaer
In a sunny meadow in west Cork, a little ladybird dreams of spreading her wings and taking off to distant lands. She is enchanted by an exotic sound she hears on the winds and ventures off to investigate. Along the way she encounters many interesting characters, sings songs and is borne aloft by the waves of sound.
Shadow play is one of the oldest forms of theatre on earth. Drawing on the interdependent traditions of Javanese gamelan music and Wayang Kulit puppetry, this production brings together local storytelling with ancient customs from South East Asia to create an evocative experience for children and parents. As with traditional Javanese shadow theatre, the intoxicating sound of the gamelan orchestra accompanies throughout.
Gamelan is a large orchestra using bronze gongs, xylophones, metallophones and other tuned percussion to create a shimmering texture that has enchanted western ears and influenced composers like Debussy, Satie and Cage. It is a mesmerising sonic adventure and west Cork is lucky to house the only Irish gamelan outside of a university city, the instruments having arrived here in summer 2016. These unique (no two sets are alike) hand-forged instruments are equally impressive visually, as they are intricately carved and brightly coloured.
Gamelan Spréacha Geala is a community music group which meets weekly to learn traditional gamelan music and compose new pieces on this unique set of instruments. This project is funded by Cork County Council Arts Office, the HSE, Cope Foundation and Cork ETB.