For Axis Ballymun, spooky season isn’t over just yet. As part of their annual Otherworld Festival, the venue showcased a wide variety of halloween-themed cultural events online on October 31st. For anyone who was too busy bobbing for apples, or drowning their lockdown sorrows in sugary sweets, the events will remain online for you to enjoy for the remainder of the week.
Storytelling with Aideen McBride
Presented by Dublin City Council, folklorist and professional storyteller Aideen McBride treats us to some traditional Halloween tales. McBride is a member of Storytellers of Ireland, who have appeared at Cape Clear International Storytelling Festival and Spirit of Folk. She is also an oral historian and has been involved in several projects to collect traditional tales. Her work ranges from traditional and rural tales, to brand new stories. This free online event went live on Facebook and Youtube simultaneously on October 31st . It will remain available to view for one week.
The Tell-Tale Heart
Then This Theatre presents a dramatic reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic piece “The Tell-Tale Heart”, specially commissioned for the Otherworld festival 2020. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is a gothic short story that centres around the unsettling concept of a motiveless murder. In just five pages, Edgar Allan Poe scales down the eighteenth-century gothic novel into a story of just a few thousand words. Filmed on the Axis Ballymun stage, this exclusive performance starring Maeve FitzGerald and directed by Aoife Spillane-Hinks is not to be missed. The Tell-Tale Heart was streamed live on YouTube on October 31st and will stay on the Axis YouTube channel for one week.
Creative Minds
Creative Minds is an evening of new music from an impressive line-up of Ireland’s top independent musicians. The event is hosted and curated by Ger Kellett, of Ballymun-based hip-hop group 5th Element, who won a Local Heroes Award from Dublin City Council Culture Company in 2018. Kellet, whose work focuses on the progress of independent artists, has created, produced and hosted the Creative Minds Stage at Axis Ballymun’s Otherworld Festival for the past three years. In this showcase, the stage is used as a platform for independent artists to grow their audience. Creative Minds was streamed on October 31st via Facebook and YouTube, where it will remain available to view for one week.
SuperPaua Podcasts
These podcasts showcase a selection of stories written in Irish, English and bilingually, presented by Superpaua. Established in 2013, Super Paua is a new Irish theatre company creating playful, multidisciplinary theatre for young audiences. It is also committed to working in and with communities to develop arts projects and skilled practitioners. The company believes that theatre and performance can be an outlet for self-expression that offers mental health benefits and a vehicle for authentic communication. SuperPaua Podcasts can be accessed via their website.
Tumor Tuner
The festival is also home to a new music video premiere from Ballymun musician Tumor Tuner. Dublin-based multimedia artist Tumor Tuner is part of an emerging generation of Irish underground musicians. Over the course of his career, he has solely written and produced numerous tracks in his home studio. This new piece captures a dark, foreboding digital atmosphere with distorted bass, detuned synths and thumping percussion. Tumour Tuner’s new video was streamed on October 31st via Facebook and YouTube, where it will remain available for one week.
