7 - 9 August 2025
The Abbey Theatre presents the Irish National Opera production of
MARS
By Jennifer Walshe and Mark O'Connell
Booking Information
Dates: 7 – 9 August
On the Abbey Stage
Times:
Thurs – Sat 7.30pm
Running time: Approx. 2 hours with an interval
Tickets: €15 – €55
Four astronauts and an AI software interface are cooped up in the cabin of a space-craft for nine months on a mission to Mars.
As they journey across the vast abyss of space, tensions rise, relationships are tested, seasons of Real Housewives are watched and re-watched. Arriving on the red planet, they confront isolation, sinister ideologies, the prospect of alien life, and a vibe-shift toward corporate authoritarianism.
MARS is an opera about space colonisation, reactionary futurism, pronatalism, the madness of hustle culture, and the unsettling futures encroaching on our present.
Featuring the Irish National Opera Orchestra.
Sung in English with English surtitles.
Commissioned by Irish National Opera, Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, Klangforum Wien and Opéra de Lille
Coproduction with Opéra de Lille
Reviews
"The most original compositional voice to emerge from Ireland in the past 20 years"
The Irish Times on Jennifer Walshe
"an electrifying vocalist, a sly comedian and storyteller, a fertile maker of videos and visual art."
The New Yorker on Jennifer Walshe
"no contemporary literary mind seems to me more subtle, perceptive or trustworthy."
The Guardian on Mark O'Connell
Credits
- Sally: Nina Guo
- Valentina: Jade Phoenix
- Judith: Sarah Richmond
- Svetlana: Doreen Curran
- Composer: Jennifer Walshe
- Libretto: Mark O'Connell
- Conductor: Elaine Kelly
- Co-Directors: Tom Creed and Jennifer Walshe
- Set and Lighting Designer: Aedin Cosgrove
- Costume Designer: Catherine Fay
- Video Designer: Conan McIvor
- Sound Designer: Úna Monaghan
- Movement Director: Bryan Burroughs
- Photo: Al Higgins
