‘Nobody believed me when I said I was leaving work to join the circus’

IF you’re looking for something different, (Un)holy Blood, a multidisciplinary show fusing contemporary circus, abstract film and immersive soundscapes, is exactly that.

Running for just one night at St Luke’s on May 6, it’s unlikely to resemble anything you’ve experienced before.

The show is the brainchild of two impressive women, Kerry-born writer Sadhbh Moriarty and Croatian circus artist Lidija Šola.

In 2015, Moriarty was awarded the Eamon Keane theatre award but moved to writing fiction shortly after. It was a chance meeting with Lidija that encouraged her back into the world of theatre following a seven year hiatus.

“I was moving into the house that Lidija was leaving, and we just got chatting. We clicked instantly. Lidija started talking about this film she loved and it really just went from there.”

The film, Santa Sagre, by Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky, is a surrealist thriller. One scene in particular had stayed with Lidija: where a site of violence against a young girl is turned into a temple. The temple is bulldozed at the end of the scene.

“We chatted at length about this story in the film. We imagined what might happen if a feminist church rose up in response to the bulldozing of the temple. We took this scene and propagated it into the world (Un)Holy Blood - an alternate universe with a corrupted feminist church at its centre,” explains Sadhbh.

Contemporary circus artist Lidija moved to Ireland in 2019 with just enough time before the pandemic to connect with the Circus Factory. She plays the lead role of the high priestess of this feminist church. She is also the director, co-writer and creator of the show. However, with a background in physical theatre, the speaking part of the performance is new to her.

“I had never really spoken on stage before so I relied on Sadhbh for that. She helped me with developing my voice.”

Šola started her circus career by doing aerial silks training ten years ago in her native Croatia as a way to exercise alongside friends.

“I became more interested in the circus as an art discipline. Over time I began producing solo and collaborative performances and educational projects.”

She eventually left her day job to work as a circus artist.

“Nobody believed me when I said I was leaving work to join the circus. They thought I was leaving to work with a competitor and was just making up an elaborate story.”

Herself and her friend eventually set up their own experimental circus collective, Tricycle Trauma, in order to tackle topics that interested them.

“Contemporary circus is not just entertainment, it combines other disciplines like dance and theatre and often deals with serious topics like abortion and rape. It is a much broader endeavour than people might think.”

And so we have (Un)Holy Blood, written about female solidarity by a pair of female writers who seem to have flourished in one another’s company.

Moriarty explains that the show started as an exploration of the ways we engage in Feminism but grew to develop a critical edge, commenting on the pitfalls of hierarchy and organised religion.

The duo performed a half-hour version of the show as part of the Pitch’d festival in 2021. Realising how well they worked together as a team, they then applied for the Project Award with the Arts Council and Cork City Council, culminating in this one night only performance at St Luke’s. In many ways, this female solidarity is at the thematic and creative heart of the show. Each woman has grown from the expertise of the other.

“During the initial showcase, it was absurd,” says Sadhbh. “I didn’t know you could do so much with your body until I saw Lidija’s work. We would talk about our ideas and Lidija would do something so unexpected.

“Going forward, I was able to visualise more easily how we could house our narrative in a very different and exciting way that would maximise the impact of Lidija’s performance.” Sadhbh Moriarty hopes their show will challenge audiences, that they will leave, fifty minutes later, questioning the ways in which we are feminists.

“I’d like us to ask ourselves whether we are standing on top of other women or truly supporting one another,” she adds.

Lidija explains that broken spirits are depicted in the show. One is a representative of a survivor of the mother and baby homes and the other an Iranian activist martyred for women’s rights.

“The priestess recognises what happened to women in the past but has forgotten that oppressive things are still happening to women. People sometimes get comfortable in their own world, they forget about other narratives,” says Lidija.

The pair are not presenting feminism as a corrupt church. This is a dystopian world. It shows what can go wrong despite great miraculous beginnings, when the purpose of a movement is lost.

Sadhbh references seeing a priest she knew growing up in Kenmare, Fr Kevin McNamara on RTÉ’s The Confessors two years ago - a show documenting priests contending with Covid restrictions.

“I remember him saying when a church is on its knees, it is closer to God. He was the kind of priest who would tell you to go out and hug your parents for your penance following confession. He was truly spiritual.

“When you visit the Vatican and see pillars of solid gold constructed at the same time as great famines, there’s a terrible dissonance. I guess what we’re saying is that movements should stay true to their purpose.”

The show is not about picking feminism apart, but challenging the ways we engage with it, so we acknowledge the past and know how to best navigate the future.

The relationship between the two women is a central inspiration in their collaboration and in their thoughts on womanhood. They discuss the ‘goosebump’ moments they shared whilst working on the project.

“We would meet up twice a week outside during Covid, complaining how difficult it is to be a woman. But we both realised we wouldn’t want to not be women either. Why would we? There is such power in women. We wanted to explore and demonstrate this in the show as well. There’s such strength and resilience in women,” said Sadhbh.

Audiences should also expect a degree of levity in the 50-minute show also. Lidija, more inclined towards the dark and absurd, learned a lot from her collaborator in this regard, she says.

“In the first version, it was too dark and heavy. That makes people want to switch off so we brought a little humour to get people to engage. There is a healthy balance of light and dark throughout.”

The creative team behind the show is impressive, including award-winning film -maker Shaun O’Connor and Cormac O’Connor on projection.

A lot of inspiration for (Un)Holy Blood came from David Lynch’s work. A song from Lynch’s Eraserhead is re-worked by writer Sadhbh and the pair hope the haunting melody will remain with the audiences long after the show.

From the sounds of it, it will be more than the song we remember.

Tickets are available for (un)Holy Blood, Saturday, May 6 at 8.30pm on Eventbrite