• Donnacha Dennehy and Enda Walsh
  • September 2022
  • Galway, Navan, Cork, Limerick, Tralee

The First Child

The triumphant conclusion of Donnacha Dennehy and Enda Walsh’s uniquely dark operatic trilogy.

Donnacha Dennehy and Enda Walsh’s third opera, The First Child, is a narrative that is much larger than the characters themselves. A work that reveals itself incrementally and cuts between the normal and the mythic. Passing through the strange minds of the central characters. Moving sharply from darkness to comedy. Shaped by obsession and an unstoppable quest for revenge.

Sung in English with English surtitles.

Running time: 90 minutes without an interval.

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“simply magnificent ★★★★★” - The Arts Review
“a remarkable conclusion to the Dennehy-Walsh partnership ★ ★ ★ ★ ★” - The Irish Times
“exquisitely tunes our emotional register to the damage of childhood trauma . . . a powerful and compelling excursion into the sinister side of suburban life ★ ★ ★★ ★” - The Sunday Times

A co-production with Landmark Productions.

Original production in association with Dublin Theatre Festival.

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Cast and Creative Team

Cast

Karen Sarah Shine
Alva Niamh O’Sullivan
Gary Samuel Levine (July)
Gary Dean Power (September)
Simon Emmett O’Hanlon
Man Eric Jurenas
Older Woman Joan Sheehy
Girl Caia Leseure

Children's Chorus

Theo Cosgrave
Clare Griffin
Joya Hobson
Priya Hobson
Catherine Leahy
Harry McEvilly
Molly Verdier
Nora Verdier

Creative Team

Conductor Ryan McAdams (18, 20, 21, 24 July, 14, 17, 18, 22, 25 September)
Conductor Elaine Kelly (23 July)
Director Enda Walsh
Choreographer Emma Martin
Set Designer Jamie Vartan
Lighting Designer Adam Silverman
Video Designer Jack Phelan
Costume Designer Joan O’Clery
Sound Designer David Sheppard
Assistant Conductor Elaine Kelly
Associate Director Eoghan Carrick
Associate Costume Designer Sinéad Lawlor
Associate Sound Designer Sinéad Diskin
Répétiteur Richard McGrath
Crash Ensemble

Discover More

Getting to Know The First Child

We caught up with tenor Dean Power on what touring with this production means to him.

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“It’s been a total joy” - Performing with The First Child

We interviewed Limerick soprano Sarah Shine about what it means to embrace new challenges, what it is like to perform with Crash Ensemble, and the joy of working on this contemporary opera.

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Videos

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