Writer: FELISPEAKS
Director: Oonagh Murphy and Esosa Ighodaro
To start the show FELISPEAKS appears projected on the diaphanous curtain that makes up most of the simplistic set upstairs in the Project Arts Centre. They welcome the audience and prepare them for what’s to come; If anyone has entered this room without an idea of who FELISPEAKS is, they are quick to make sure eyes and ears are open now, and hearts as well, as they point out that this may be the first time audience members have seen a Black person on the stage, or the first time they’ve sat beside a Black person in a theatre. They speak about a night of firsts, and the beautiful potential of that. What follows is riotous, incandescent, breathtaking, and magical. A piece of theatre that creates a sensation almost indescribable. On this particular evening, after the standing ovation and cheers have died down, a nearby pair of friends spontaneously embrace in joy – “that was fantastic”, it certainly was.
FELISPEAKS describes Octopus Children as a choreopoem. For those unfamiliar with the term (no shade), the perfect way to understand the concept is by attending this show, which is a sensory bathing combination of poetry, dance, music, and song. We meet Young Felicia (Tishé Fatunbi) as they throw shapes at their first disco in Longford, thrilled beyond measure to be there, but already grappling with who they are and how they fit. Octopus (FELISPEAKS) arrives to provide guidance through spoken word poetry and song, with Tommy Grooves beating straight into our hearts on the drums. Tobi Omoteso (as brother) and Favour Odusola (as father) perform mesmerising choreography (designed by Omoteso himself), with Tierra Porter (as mother) adding her beautiful voice in solo and ensemble songs. As Young Felicia journeys towards self-acceptance, they come up against the patriarchal structures of society, queerness and Nigerian culture, Blackness and Irish culture, and the systemic racism that exists all around the world. The cast are electric to watch and if in the front row prepare to spend your time darting your head from left to right to take in everything at once, let alone the visual art projected onto that lovely diaphanous curtain throughout.
Theatre and art have the power to do many things; to tell a story, to shine a light, to make people laugh, or cry, or experience a reality that they have never imagined or expected or even believe to exist. They also create a space for exploring identity, and at a time when the perception of Irish identity has come to the fore in shameful and unpleasant ways, it’s absolutely the time for such explorations to be taking place on stages around the country. THISISPOPBABY are no strangers to this type of art, and it’s not their first collaboration with FELISPEAKS, who has opened for RIOT in the past, and who played the storyteller in WAKE. With Octopus Children, we are gifted with a perspective of Irishness that will feel like home to some, uncomfortable to others, but most importantly – real. If the author’s goal was, in their own words to have “black Irish girls, or non-binary people, or gays, to be like, ‘Ahh! That’s a bit of me!’”, they have gone beyond that and created a piece of art that makes people outside of those communities say “Ahh! I want that to be a bit of me! I want to exist in this world that I’ve never seen before.” An absolute triumph.
Runs until 14th Sept 2025.
