, 4 Nov
The Riverbank Arts Centre in Newbridge is getting ready to welcome a
show with a difference.
The Virtual Reality Opera Experience Out of the Ordinary/As an nGnách
is coming to the venue on Tuesday, November 7.
Irish National Opera have created a show where audience members get to
experience the world’s first virtual reality community opera.
During this immersive experience, which takes place over 30 minutes,
audience members wear a Virtual Reality headset and are transported to
an imagined fantasy reality which tells the tale of a community forced
to flee their barren homeland, which, due to their own actions, can no
longer sustain them.
The audience follows Nalva, the main character, as she builds a boat to
take her people on an epic journey to find a new home.
But as they begin their voyage, they don’t realise they are being
pursued. Daol, a powerful force of nature, furious at being released
from the leached soil, churns up the seas and causes a huge storm,
plunging the boat underwater.
When Nalva and her people eventually resurface, they find themselves at
a new and unfamiliar land. Can they make a home here? Will they learn
to live in harmony with nature, or will they repeat the mistakes of the
past? And will the destructive energy of Daol find peace, or will she
continue to wreak havoc? It’s all to play for. Why not climb aboard?
Written by composer Finola Merivale and librettist Jody O’Neill working
with director Jo Mangan and students from rural Ireland and communities
from Inis Meáin, Tallaght and South Dublin.
Out of the Ordinary / As an nGnách will take place at Riverbank Arts
Centre on Tuesday 7 November at 5pm, 6pm, 7pm and 8pm.
Tickets are €5 and can be booked through the Box Office or by telephone
on 045 448327 Monday to Friday 9.30am-5pm (closed for lunch 2-2.30) and
Saturday 10am-1pm. Tickets can also be booked on www.riverbank.ie