thisispopbaby presentsWAKE
GLITTER BEATS BANGING TUNES
SYDNEY FESTIVAL
BOOK NOW
GLITTER BEATS BANGING TUNES SYDNEY FESTIVAL BOOK NOW
Glitter, beats and banging tunes – this Irish WAKE is the ultimate celebration of life.
Sydney Festival
14-25 January 2026
Experience WAKE, the electrifying Irish variety phenomenon that remixes traditions in an high-octane, heart-thumping celebration of life and connection.
Immerse yourself in our wild WAKE, where customs collide with club anthems, creating a euphoric soundtrack for a night filled with aerial artistry, Irish tap, cabaret, slam poetry, pole-dancing and more.
Best known as an ancient funeral rite, the Irish WAKE is actually a celebration of transformation, of moving from one realm to another. Ushering in fabulous change – caterpillar to butterfly – the WAKE is a timeless reminder to live fully.
Acclaimed Irish theatre company THISISPOPBABY invites you to witness an anthemic spectacle with the spirit of an epic trad session and the ecstatic energy of a stadium concert. After two sold-out, award-winning runs in Dublin, theatrical juggernaut WAKE is going global.
Expect joy, connection, release…and glitter.
THE MOMENT WE’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR
IRISH TIMESTHE BEST THING YOU’LL EXPERIENCE ALL YEAR
JOE.IEAN ADRENALINE SHOT OF JOY TO THE HEART
THE ARTS REVIEWRiverdance foR club queens
Buzz.ieyou haven’t lived, it turns out, until you’ve seen a blazing-hot pole dance accompanied by a mournful Irish fiddle
the guardiana rainbow river of dance, song, and so much else
THE ARTS deskCREDITS
Originally co-commissioned by The Irish Arts Center New York and Cork Opera House. Touring supported by Culture Ireland.
Created by
Jennifer Jennings, Phillip McMahon & Niall Sweeney
Directed by
Jennifer Jennings & Phillip McMahon
Performers
Philip Connaughton, Emer Dineen, Cristian Emmanuel Dirocie, FELISPEAKS, Deirdre Griffin, Alma Kelliher, Lisette Krol, Lucia Mac Partlin, Adam Matthews, Ryan McClelland, Jade O’Connor, Michael Roberson, Darren Roche and Jenny Tufts
Composer, Sound Designer & Musical Director
Alma Kelliher
Choreographer
Philip Connaughton
With text by
Carys D. Coburn
Set & Graphic Design
Niall Sweeney
Costume Design
Julian Smith
Original Lighting Design
Mark Galione
Tour Lighting Design
Sarah Jane Shiels
Head of Sound
Jason Fallon
Additional Composition
Darren Roche
Stage Manager
Olivia Drennan
Assistant Stage Manager and Counter Weight
Ben Moore
Producers
Carla Rogers & Matt Smyth
Production Manager
Adam Fitzsimons & Des Kenny
Graphic Design
Niall Sweeney
Production Imagery
Ruth Medjber & Allen Kiely
PREVIOUS TOUR DATES
2–5 APRIL 2025
SAdler’s wells, peacock theatre, london
17-21 APRIL 2025
Aviva Studios, Manchester
6-23 APRIL 2024
THE NATIONAL STADIUM, DUBLIN
10-17 SEPTEMBER 2022
