WAKE
Taking our seats, a space stage illuminated only by the warm orange glow or a sunset, a feint haze fills the auditorium and a quartet of musicians take their places and begin playing traditional Irish music as the last few audience members shuffle in.
The sunset becomes a moon and the musicians are joined on stage by the ensemble who, in near darkness, begin to act out a funeral procession.
For a show based on the classic Irish funeral tradition - this is where the tradition stops and the fever dream that is the show begins…
The narrator takes to the stage to explain not only the wake tradition but to inform us that we will be changed after tonight - a bold promise but ultimately probably true.
Created by Jennifer Jennings, Phillip McMahon & Niall Sweeney the team behind THISISPOPBABY, Wake is a rollercoaster of a variety show, throughout the following 90 minutes the 9 performers along with the 4 piece band and singer effortlessly segue from songs to burlesque, from dance to spoken work, from dance to acrobatics and I wasn’t even going to mention the huge balloons.
Throughout the show the stage was groaning with the sheer amount of talent - of particular note a phenomenal pole dance and a recurring character of an English cousin (several times removed) who’d be asked to DJ the wake as their first ‘international’ gig which subsequently transpired to actually be their first gig. Seeing the entire audience on their feet and with their hands in the air dancing and singing along to Gala’s Freed From Desire is certainly not what I was expecting from what was essentially billed as as show about a funeral.
This was both a moving show and a show that made you move, no performance was less than stunning and the pacing made the hour and a half fly by. When the narrator returned for the conclusion, it was safe to say that regardless of how, everybody in the room was moved.
If I were to (struggle to) find fault in the show it would be that the wake narrative was inconsistent; the drunk partygoer merging karaoke and burlesque could perhaps be justified as the aforementioned DJ but acrobatics and pole dancing clearly have a less obvious connection to a funeral rite.
That said in conclusion, it didn’t matter.
We weren’t there for the narrative or the plot, we were there for a fun night out and without exception - Wake delivered.
Whilst I hope it’s a good while off, I’d definitely book these guys for my funeral!
This show was reviewed on the 2nd April 2025 at the Peacock Theatre, Sadlers Wells, London.
WAKE will run at Peacock Theatre in London until April 5, and then at Factory International's Aviva Studios in Manchester from April 17-21.
Review written by Mike Stocks
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Photo credit: Ruth Medjber
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