A Waterford writer and performer premiered her short film in London this week.
Katie Honan, from Waterford city, premiered her film TOCK at the London International Screen Dance Festival.
TOCK showcases a GAA stadium and at its centre a female body with modern freedom, but a ticking clock still looms.
Supported by the Arts Council and South East Technology University, Katie developed her dance practice in relation to neuroscience which inspired the film and interesting conversations about Irish history.
Katie Honan told The Irish World: “It’s really exciting.
“The aim from the get go for it was to go into the London International Screen Dance Festival because I just thought the ethos of the festival would work really well for this piece because it showcases screen dance from all over the world.
“I felt that this, especially the setting on a GAA pitch, has a really strong connection to Ireland.
“And also the London-Irish connection is so famous and there is such a strong connection.
“I just thought that it was the right place.
“It’s brilliant it was selected.”
On the piece’s inspiration, Katie said: “I wanted to look at the female body in Ireland at an iconic Irish site.
“And I thought, ‘What is more iconic than a GAA sports ground that is oozing with Irish history?’
“In the film you see three strands of time.
“You see the past, the present, and the ticking clock which is always driving us into the future.
“So in the past, we see a mucky and stained figure representing the persecution of Irish women over many years.
“Then in the present, we see a female body full of modern freedom and fight and exaltation.
“And then we have the ticking clock which is an immovable figure.
“That was really the inspiration behind it.”
Katie, who trained at Lír Academy, acts in the short film herself. Katie has worked professionally in theatre for ten years and started making her own work in more recent years.
“I was thinking about time and the female body and the Irish female perspective.
“London was a sanctuary for Irish women for so many years before the abortion referendum happened in 2018 so again, that was a real reasoning for premiering TOCK in London.”
Katie filmed at the Southeast Technology University Arena in Waterford.
“It’s an incredible space.
“They kindly gave it over to us.
“I was thinking about iconic Irish spaces at to film and where I wanted to film TOCK.
“I’ve been to so many hurling matches over my life and there’s nothing better than walking into a full stadium building up to a big match and just the rush that goes through your body of excitement and expectation.
“I really wanted that.
“I really wanted that on screen which is something that is again exciting about presenting in London: To have people experience the weight of what a hurling pitch looks like.
“TOCK is a very nuanced piece about female and body and the female experience in Irish history and through Irish history, but it’s funny how spaces and places that you’ve seen over time feeds a project like that too.
“I think London has been a sanctuary for Irish people for many, many years and over a very, very long time, and for different reasons whether it was people coming here to find work and women coming here to make a choice for their bodies as Ireland didn’t allow it until the 2018 referendum, and TOCK tock speaks to that. some of the inspiration that went into TOCK comes from that.”
TOCK premieres at London International Screen Dance Festival Thursday 16 October. Screendancelondon.com.