“Kevin Gleeson’s sound design is suitably eclectic. Irish ballads from the 1950s give way to Eastern European folk sounds before dissolving into tribal rhythms. There is little obvious logic connecting the selections, no overarching musical theme beyond their emphatic percussion, which provides the dancers with a compelling pulse to move against.”

No More Workhorse

Soft God is a jagged ceremony that swerves between the mythic and the ridiculous, the carnivalesque and the everyday, between virtuosity and failure. Moving through a series of ever-changing scenes – a rambling house, a dance hall, a creation myth, a dream sequence and a never-ending folk dance – 8 performers cry, kiss, sing, sway, listen, stamp, hold hands and dance, insisting on ways to keep hope, meaning and spirit alive.

Premiered at Dublin Dance Festival at the Abbey Theatre, May 2026

Creation & Direction Emma Martin
Choreography Emma Martin in collaboration with the dancers
Dancers Sloan Caldwell, Kévin Coquelard, Róisín Harten, Yujin Jeong, Wayne Jordan, Stanley Menthor, Ennio Sammarco, Jessie Thompson
Music & Sound Design Kevin Gleeson
Scenograhy Katie Davenport, Emma Martin
Costume Designer Katie Davenport
Lighting Designer Stephen Dodd
Dramaturgy Wayne Jordan