Mayo audiences to enjoy The Last Pearl next month

FROM the team that created the productions Shackleton and The Third Policeman, Blue Raincoat Theatre Company are delighted to bring their most recent devised piece, The Last Pearl, to audiences in Mayo as part of a national spring tour.

The production will be staged at Ballina Arts Centre on February 19.

The Last Pearl is loosely based on the ideas of the environmentalist James Lovelock and was first presented in Sligo in the autumn of 2022. Using scaled models as well as bunraku and shadow puppetry, The Last Pearl tells the story of a pearl diver and her daughter as they scavenge in a dying world. It is the story of their ability to adapt to a changing environment and ultimately survive.

Artistic director, Niall Henry, Blue Raincoat Theatre Company, said: “We were very excited by the audience reaction in Ireland and Scotland to The Last Pearl in 2024 and are really looking forward to bringing it to new audiences in Mayo.”

The production features work from long-time collaborator designer Jamie Vartan (The Last Hotel, The Walworth Farce, Ballyturk) along with acclaimed Blue Raincoat ensemble members Sandra O'Malley, John Carty, Brian Devaney and new members Aine Ní Laoghaire and Aisling Mannion.

The Last Pearl premiered in The Factory Performance Space, Sligo, in November 2022, and played to critical and audience success in Project Arts Centre, Dublin, and Scotland’s Glasgow and Edinburgh in summer 2024.

Tickets for the Ballina show are available at https://ballinaartscentre.com/ or call (096) 73593. Tickets: €18/€16 (booking fees may apply).