A production by Galway-based company Moonfish, freely adapted from the Irish Famine-era novel by Joseph O’Connor.

The show was bilingual, performed in both Irish and English, and was created to be accessible to non-Irish speakers. The cast stayed on stage throughout the performance, moving to side tables when they were ‘off’. From these tables they created scenes on the ‘sails’ via an overhead projector, drew images and wrote live surtitles, sang, played instruments and created sound effects.

Star of the Sea premiered and enjoyed a sell-out run in the Galway International Arts Festival July 2014. It was co-produced by and presented at An Taibhdhearc, the National Irish Language Theatre. It toured various venues Ireland in 2015, including tp Draíocht, Blanchardstown for Dublin Theatre Festival.

For more on the making of the show, including design sketches, visit Stage and Screen Design Ireland.

Set: Lian Bell
Lighting: Matt Burke
Costume: Cherie White
Created & performed by the ensemble: Simon Boyle, Grace Kiely, Morgan Cooke, Ionia Ní Chróinín, Máiréad Ní Chróinín, Zita Monaghan