Riders to the Sea

27–30 November 2008
English National Opera, London Coliseum

Riders to the Sea, written by John Millington Synge, tells the story of a mother who loses all of her sons at sea. The opera is written by Ralph Vaughan Williams. English National Opera invited Fiona Shaw to direct the opera and stage design was done in collaboration with Tom Pye.

A short piece called Luonnotar by Sibelius began the evening. Luonnotar is a Finnish myth about a goddess of creation, the spirit of nature and mother of the seas. She became restless in the heavens and dropped into the sea entering the stage on a vertical currach or shrine to earth.

The essence of the production was to merge land and sea, undermining any sense of shelter. During the final scenes currachs were flown from above as the last son’s body was carried on stage wrapped in a red canvas sail. Sea water gushed out as he was unwrapped at his mother’s feet.