Pagan Rave, Ireland

Pagan Rave is an ongoing, performance-based project which aims to reimagine folk traditions and calendar customs of Ireland. Using as a starting point the costumed figures of Irish and European folk theatre and seasonal festivals, it seeks to operate at the margins of place and mind, and embody the transformative and liberating aspects of masks and music in a ceremonial context. Traditional mumming practices from Ireland, Britain, and South East Europe form important tropes and points of inspiration in the development of Pagan Rave, and the nature of their influence and interplay will be discussed.