Rehearsal images have been released for the world premiere of The Surge: An Ode to Sinéad O’Connor, opening from 25 to 27 June 2026 at Aviva Studios, Manchester, the home of Factory International.
Inspired by the life and music of Sinéad O’Connor, the new dance work is created, choreographed and directed by Tony Award-winning artist Sonya Tayeh.
Set to O’Connor’s iconic music, the piece is described as a meditation on voice, protest and the courage to live a life that defies the norm.
The production is performed by a company of 10 women, whose combined experience represents more than five hundred years of collective wisdom, foregrounding age as a source of strength rather than fear.
Presented in partnership with The Joyce Theater and Factory International, O’Connor’s voice guides audiences through the work via her music and narration from her memoir Rememberings.
The cast includes dance artists Betsy Cooper, Alison Clancy, Gabrielle Malone, Mor Mendel, Amy Miller, Jennifer Nugent, Karine Plantadit, Lisa Race, Monique Smith and Jin Ju Song-Begin, with Lauren Gerrie as understudy.
Sonya Tayeh said: “To me, Sinéad O’Connor’s music is rooted in a sense of a desire for freedom, an unrelenting righteousness and a quest for a spiritual awakening. The depth of emotion in her music is unmatched and vibrates through the dance space with such electric inspiration for me and has for decades now. I am so grateful to be working with ten women across many genres of the art form – from dance scholars and makers to teachers and seekers – to join me in the howl. To join me in The Surge.”
The Surge: An Ode to Sinéad O’Connor is staged in The Hall at Aviva Studios, with performances on Thursday 25 and Friday 26 June at 7.30pm, and Saturday 27 June at 2.30pm and 7.30pm.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
