Details

Set in the 1780s against the backdrop of the Enlightenment, when science and faith found themselves on a collision course. The Irish Giant is based on the story of Charles Byrne, Georgian London's biggest star, an eight-foot tall Irishman whose body is coveted by visionary anatomist John Hunter, a man obsessed with life, death and abnormal bodies. Plunging its bloody hands into history, The Irish Giant explores the ethics of who owns our bodies, who should - and what life, if any, awaits us after death? The story of Charles Byrne remains controversial today - 250 years on, campaigners have recently demanded that his body be retrieved from London's Hunterian Museum and given the burial at sea that Byrne sought. Running time: approx. 90mins without interval.

Cast/Performers

Alex Murdoch, Brian Logan, Neil Haigh

Creatives/Company

Producer(s): Ed Collier, Lucy Moore
Company: Cartoon de Salvo
Director: Alex Murdoch
Design: Jean Chan
Music: Daniel Marcus Clarke
Other(s): Pau Murray (illusions), Rebecca Hurst (animation), Rhys Evans (production manager), Brian Logan (devisor)
Lighting: Andy Purves
Lyrics(s): Brian Logan, Daniel Marcus (additional lyrics)