Introducing Musici Ireland, our new Artist-in-Residence for 2024

We are thrilled to introduce Musici Ireland, our new Lime Tree Theatre | Belltable Artist-in-Residence for 2024.

Musici Ireland was formed in 2012 by violist Beth McNinch as a chamber “collective”. The aim from the beginning was to be able to perform chamber music of any size and instrumentation.

In 2021, their interests started to evolve, with the development of their critically acclaimed first multidisciplinary production “A Mother’s Voice” which premiered in January 2023. A Mother’s Voice is a commemorative dedication to the many women affected by the mother and baby homes in Ireland during the 1900s. It is a multidisciplinary production in honour of these women, a collaboration between artists and living survivors to shed light on this veiled era of Ireland’s recent history. The World Premiere was given in Cork in January 2023. A Mother’s Voice has since been performed during the 2023 Rainy Days Festival in Luxembourg. Multiple performances in Ireland, Germany and America are booked for 2024.

The production, a two year development, was created by Beth McNinch with co-creative assistance from Jane Hackett. The performance consists of an immersive exhibit by Bridget Ni Dhuinn, with lighting by Eoin McNinch and showcases a performance of the original music by Cork composers Linda and Irene Buckley with animation by Eabha Bortolozzo and Jack Kirwan. Most importantly, the piece also features the voices of three mothers, “Cait”, Deirdre Wadding and Sheila O’Byrne.

The Belltable residency is offering Musici Ireland a year to experiment and explore in this time of metamorphosis for the group.

The residency allows Musici Ireland to continue the development of a family show which began in 2023 with an Activate residency at Backstage Theatre Longford. During this residency, Beth will be working closely with talented actors/scriptwriters Emma Finnegan and Jimmy Kavanagh to develop a show called SLIME, a family theatre show that explores climate change and the environment in a fun, engaging and occasionally gross way!
With focus on the 10-14 age group. They will also be working with songwriter Sam Killian to develop some catchy earworms!”