by Compagnie XY
Looking away from political leadership to the inspiration of Northern Ireland’s citizens, After the Rain (August 2023) is a new work by world-renowned French contemporary circus company – Compagnie XY.
Championing our diverse communities’ resilience in sustaining 25 years of peace and non-violence in the face of conflict, it was commissioned by the IWM 14-18 NOW Legacy Fund in partnership with Ulster Presents at Ulster University.
It was a key event in the Ulster Presents arts programme marking the 25th Anniversary of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement.
The project was produced by Derry city’s In Your Space Circus in association with Belfast’s Circusful and involved the collaboration of over 20 local artists from Derry and across the island of Ireland.
The project took place over two years from the beginning of 2022 to the end of 2023.
It began with a surprise appearance by Compagnie XY on the streets of Derry in September 2022, delivering a week-long set of unannounced interventions amongst the public, offering them unusual, short ‘Voyages,’ or ‘adventures’ amidst their daily activities.
The week ended with a community gathering in St. Columb’s Park in a mass act of lifting each other up.
The activities took the city by storm, going viral across local social networks and attracting news coverage by the BBC.
Les Voyages Derry-Londonderry was specifically designed as an invitation to the city, a gift. One that said Compagnie XY were not leaving, but coming back, to work with local citizens and deliver After the Rain – a new work, for everyone, in Derry’s Guildhall Square to mark the 25th Anniversary of the peace agreement in 2023.
You can watch the full journey of the project and its epic finale in the video, made by Simon Mills, at the top of this page.
