Näher… closer, nearer, sooner

A cast of fifteen dancers brought audiences on a captivating and emotional journey through the exquisite site, sharing visceral and moving memories, texts and dances.

Co-created by choreographer Liz Roche and playwright Shane O'Reilly, with sound design by Berlin based designer Roy Carroll and costumes by Catherine Fay, the piece explored the crossover and connections between the texts and concepts of W.B. Yeats and the life and works of Goethe. Inspired by Yeats' notion that for a time, when someone dies, they dream backwards through the more personal deeds and thoughts of their lives, Näher...closer, nearer, sooner explored the moments of significance that can and might arise on this imagined introspective journey.

With support from The Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon, Goethe-Institut Irland and Dublin City Council, Liz Roche Company and Invisible Thread Films made a short film, Näher, based on the live piece. Näher is directed by Alan Gilsenan, with Director of Photography Colm Horgan and music by Ray Harman. The film's performers are Kévin Coquelard, Finola Cronin, Liv O'Donoghue and Grant McLay. Our dance film Näher to premiered at Cork International Film Festival November 7th 2021. Filmed in Dublin’s Goethe Institut, Näher follows four lost souls as they move and gather in shared moments of remembrance, bringing life to haunted spaces new and old, evoking fleeting memories and suspended dreams.

The film draws from the original production of Näher… closer, nearer, sooner commissioned by Goethe Institut Irland on the occasion of its re-opening at 37 Merrion Square in 2018. The live promenade dance piece premiered at Dublin Fringe Festival 2018 and explored W.B. Yeats’ belief that the dead dream backwards through their lives. Journeying through different rooms of the building, the choreography offered opportunities to dream back into the lives of the performers and share in their search for the moments of most meaning to them.