Emma O’Halloran & Mark O’Halloran

Trade / Mary Motorhead

8 August - 26 October 2024

Dates & Venues

Dates & Venues
Thur 8 August 7pm
Thur 8 August 7pm
Kilkenny Arts Festival Watergate Theatre
Fri 9 August 7pm
Fri 9 August 7pm
Kilkenny Arts Festival Watergate Theatre
Sat 10 August 7pm
Sat 10 August 7pm
Kilkenny Arts Festival Watergate Theatre
Sun 11 August 3pm
Sun 11 August 3pm
Kilkenny Arts Festival Watergate Theatre
Fri 11 October 7.30pm
Fri 11 October 7.30pm
Dún Laoghaire, Dublin Pavilion Theatre
Sat 12 October 7.30pm
Sat 12 October 7.30pm
Dún Laoghaire, Dublin Pavilion Theatre
Sun 13 October 5pm
Sun 13 October 5pm
Dún Laoghaire, Dublin Pavilion Theatre
Wed 16 October 7:30pm
Wed 16 October 7:30pm
Cork Cork Opera House
Sat 19 October 7:30pm
Sat 19 October 7:30pm
Tralee Siamsa Tíre
Wed 23 October 7.30pm
Wed 23 October 7.30pm
Ennis Glór
Sat 26 October 7.30pm
Sat 26 October 7.30pm
Navan Solstice Arts Centre
  • Emma O’Halloran & Mark O’Halloran
  • August - October 2024
  • Kilkenny Arts Festival & Nationwide Tour

Trade / Mary Motorhead

Two searing one-act operas. 

Irish composer Emma O’Halloran has turned two of her uncle Mark O’Halloran’s plays into a critically acclaimed double bill.

Mary Motorhead
Mary Motorhead has been locked in a prison cell after stabbing her husband in the head with a 12-inch carving knife. While he lies in intensive care, Mary reflects on the events that have brought this turbulent rural marriage to such a crisis.

Trade
In a guesthouse in Dublin’s north inner city, a vulnerable and confused young rent boy sits with a middle-aged client. The older man has blood on his shirt. A lot has happened since the two last met.  

Running time is 2 hours including one interval.

Sung in English.

Join the conversation online with #TradeMaryMotorhead.

Contains themes of an adult nature.

A co-production with Beth Morrison Projects.

European premiere co-presented by Kilkenny Arts Festival.

Content Warning: Please note that this production contains: Strobe lighting effects and theatrical fog/haze.


“vivid … daring … the intensity never flags” - The New York Times
“Rarely, if ever, does every element — score, text, singers, instrumentalists, conductor, director, sets, costumes, lighting, sound design — all come together. This is that rarity” - LA Times
“It’s 21st-century verismo, using psychological revelations instead of physical violence as dramatic catalysts” - The Wall Street Journal on Trade

Discover More

Trade / Mary Motorhead | Trailer

Trade | Musical Insights

Trade | In rehearsals

Mary Motorhead | Trailer

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