Meet Dualtagh McDonnell-Grundy, who crafts alternative realities through theatre
What happens when you mix Irish wit, experimental theatre, and the perspective of a mushroom? You get the uniquely imaginative work of Dualtagh McDonnell-Grundy. Currently based in the Netherlands, this boundary-pushing theatre-maker and artistic researcher crafts performances that invite audiences to step into alternative realities – spaces where they can question, reflect, and rediscover the world around them. During the Theatre in Palm Residency in Sofia, Dualtagh continued his quest to break down barriers between the real and the imagined.
In this candid interview, he shares how he turns ordinary moments into profound theatre, why he believes the body can say more than words ever could, and what it feels like to watch an audience lose themselves in the world he creates. With stories of balloon-and-pin aprons, participatory rituals, and the delicate art of balancing discomfort and curiosity, Dualtagh’s journey is a reminder that theatre isn’t just seen – it’s felt, lived, and transformed.
Can you tell us a little more about who you are?
My name is Dualtagh McDonnell-Grundy and I am an Irish theatre-maker and artistic researcher currently based in the Netherlands. I am interested in creating alternative worlds in performance which allow the audience to reflect on the real worlds in which they live. At the moment, I’m working a lot with technology with my collective, BLOB, and exploring non-human perspectives in performance which was most recently a mushroom.
You’re constantly trying to provoke audience reflection. What techniques do you use to ensure your audience doesn’t just observe but actively reflects on their role within the themes you present?
I think for me it’s about providing the audience the space for them to question or speculate on the way things work in their everyday lives. I’m always trying to enable discovery for the audience in my performances. Now, it’s important to say this doesn’t always work and when it does sometimes it comes from the most unusual places, moments in my performance that I never considered to be provoking – but then you realise that’s your aim actually.
I think sometimes as theatre-makers we underestimate people and it’s important to acknowledge that. I recently did a participatory performance in the Netherlands where I invited the audience into a ritual which aimed for them to question what the future looked like when the present is characterised by war, destruction and environmental crisis. Towards the end of the performance I invited them to listen to these questions while a projection showed destroyed landscapes over and over again. I expected people to interact for a short period and leave. But then most people stayed with me for longer than I could have ever imagined, they were thinking, they were listening. It’s important to remember that as performance makers the audience gives us their time and that’s not something to be taken for granted, we have to do something valuable with that time.
You also emphasize physical performance. How do you use the body as a primary means of communication in your pieces?
Yes, I approach performance from the perspective that our body has become disciplined by our experiences, societal norms and power structures. Using the body in performance can help investigate who we are as individuals and help us to discover things about our experiences that may lie hidden underneath.
Can you point to a specific performance where body language spoke louder than words?
I did a performance back in 2022 in Berlin where I provided two people with instructions via earpieces. One participant was wearing an apron of balloons and the other an apron of pins. They had never heard these instructions before and they could not communicate with one another – one of these instructions was to hug each other. They didn’t know what to do and what resulted was a solution which involved one hugging the other from behind creating a beautiful body sculpture. It showed me that if we want to do something, our bodies will always find a way to go beyond the difficulty, we just have to think from a different perspective.
What do you hope to learn or accomplish by collaborating with artists from different cultures during this residency?
As an artist, collaboration is at the core of my practice. It’s wonderful to get the opportunity to learn from different perspectives and get the time to make something together. I am eager to explore new ideas and let myself go in different directions. These types of projects are some of my favourite things to do as you never know what you’re going to find and what new collaboration and friends you’re going to make. It’s nice to be surprised!
How do you plan to incorporate your experiences from this residency into your long-term career goals in theatre?
Coming from a background as a theatre director and writer, while always working collaboratively, I have less experience performing with my body on stage. This is something that I’ve recently moved towards with the last few projects involving me performing my own work which was a challenge at first but is something that I’m really quite enjoying. I’m looking forward to using this opportunity to continue to experiment with myself as a performer and a maker and I’m eager to discover what my body can do for my work and for others.
For the final – share with us a favourite quote of yours from your favourite movie or maybe a movie you’ve watched recently.
“– It can be very hard in the beginning. Maybe one of you does something terrible, and that might be the hardest to get used to.
“The Future” by Miranda July
– Uh, we didn’t… have those kinds of problems in the beginning.
– Well, the thing is you’re just… in the middle of the beginning right now.“
Article by Niya Andonova
