Soft God

An empty stage. A painted cloth. Chaos. Dream. Abyss.

Soft God is a jagged ceremony that swerves between the mythic and the ridiculous, the carnivalesque and the everyday, between virtuosity and failure. Moving through a series of ever-changing scenes – a rambling house, a dance hall, a creation myth, a dream sequence and a never-ending folk dance – 8 performers cry, kiss, sing, sway, listen, stamp, hold hands and dance, insisting on ways to keep hope, meaning and spirit alive.

Against a backdrop of crumbling certainties, Soft God mines the collective imagination of this brutal moment, where to dream together and share oneself is an act of defiance.

Mongrel. Messy. Superstitious. Uncouth.

Co-comissioned and presented by Dublin Dance Festival and the Abbey Theatre

World Premiere

14-16 May 2026

Created and choreographed by Emma Martin, in collaboration with

Dancers Sloan Caldwell, Kévin Coquelard, Róisín Harten, Yujin Jeong, Wayne Jordan, Stanley Menthor, Ennio Sammarco, Jessie Thompson

Music & Sound Design Kevin Gleeson

Scenography Katie Davenport, Emma Martin

Costume Designer Katie Davenport

Lighting Designer Stephen Dodd

Dramaturgy Wayne Jordan

Piano Song Andrew Hamilton

Producer for United Fall Jill Murray

Costume Construction Nicola Burke, LaurA Fajardo, Mya Humphreys, Veronica Romanova

Stage Management Sinead Cormack

Assistant Stage & Props maker Dragana Stevanič

Technical Management Susan Collins

Production Management Peter Jordan, Jim O’Connell

Sound Engineer Kevin McGing

Images Ros Kavanagh

Video Steve O’Connor