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Where We Bury the Bones

A Dumbworld & Kilkenny Arts Festival co-production. Created by multi-award-winners John McIlduff and Brian Irvine, Where We Bury the Bones is an intimate and challenging work of contemporary music theatre. It begins with the discovery of a single bone, unearthed during the archaeological excavations that preceded the redevelopment of the Abbey Quarter in Kilkenny. From there …

NI Film Scoring School

Dumbworld presents NI FILM SCORING SCHOOL In partnership with the Regional Cultural Centre and Ulster University. Specifically designed for early-career musicians and composers looking to develop their music composition and technology skills in writing music for screen (film, games, TV, etc). The week consists of workshops, talks, and tutorials that focus on the professional tools …

How We Stand, How We Breathe

Dumbworld and Ulster Orchestra present How We Stand, How We Breathe A Series of New Music Interruptions for Orchestra, Mixed Performers and Micro Societies… Recorded live at Foyle Foundation Hall, Ulster Orchestra at Townsend. (Wed 26 – Fri 28 Mar) The world is shifting, and with it, a new kind of world order is emerging. …

Sonic Playgrounds

An electrifying musical experiment will unfold between Belfast and Gdańsk, bringing together boundary-pushing musicians, improvisers, and sound explorers. Led by composer Brian Irvine (Dumbworld) and the fearless innovators of Remont Pomp, this project is a collision of rhythm, spontaneity, and storytelling—a joyful cacophony where sound has no limits. Development and Performance in Gdańsk October 2025 …

It’s All Going the Same Way

On the 13th of December, Meliton Shishkin had a thought, a bold, life-altering thought: I want to feel better. Not just better in the fleeting, shallow sense, but truly better. He wanted to know who he was and to understand his place in this violent, unstable world of ours. The Pipe by Anton Checkov is …

The Scorched Earth Trilogy

“short, sharp, sardonic commentaries on the climate crisis… anarchic and funny ” – The Times Nominee Ivor Novello Classical Award [2023] Brian Irvine for Best Stage Work  The Scorched Earth Trilogy is a trio of satirical films inspired by environmental disaster and the lack of serious climate action. The short works tackle some of our most pressing …

A Children’s Guide to Anarchy

Winner Ivor Novello Classical Award [2024] Brian Irvine for Best Community and Participation Composition (ABRSM)   Inspired by the 1931 publication ‘La Anarquia Explicada a Los Niños’, an instructional manual for children published during the Spanish Civil War that explained the ideas and practises of anarchy – composer Brian Irvine and director John McIlduff in …

A New Topography of Love

Imagine Super Mario Brothers meets Mario Lanza, Mickey Mouse, whales, bats, birds and Jeff Bezos all battling it out for the future of our very own planet earth. A New Topography of Love tells the tale of the earth – ravaged by waste and excess and almost too late to save – but the animals …