Beckett’s work resonates far underground in Marble Arch Caves

However, for me personally, of all the Fermanagh locations chosen for festival performances over the years, the Marble Arch Caves has to be one of the most iconic.

Actor, Glenn McGivern.

It was during the second festival, in 2013, that the caves were first used, with festival curators Seán Doran and Liam Browne of Arts Over Borders choosing the underground venue for a unique event which featured Beckett’s play ‘Not I’, readings from ‘Danté’s Inferno’, and a performance of ‘Dido’s Lament’ to conclude.

At the time there was a call-out for local volunteers to perform at the event as readers or ‘Cantors’.

Making their way through the caves.

Always up for a new experience, I volunteered as a Cantor, and was given an extract or ‘canto’ of Dante’s Inferno to read.

Needless to say, it was an experience like no other, so when it was announced that the event would return as part of this year’s 10th anniversary festival, and they again required Cantors, I put my name on the list (and encouraged a couple of others to do the same).

Following a dress rehearsal on Wednesday, July 20 under the direction of Festival Manager Sally Rees, all volunteer Cantors gathered at the Marble Arch Caves Visitor Centre on the evening of Thursday, July 21 for the opening performance.

We were then led deep underground into the show cave, or ‘Hell’ for the purpose of the event, to take our positions in crevices and nooks amid striking limestone features.

Making her way through the caves.

Excitement overshadowed my nerves as I stood in silence, awaiting my moment to read.

Meanwhile, the audience members – who had travelled through the first section of the cave by boat – were now witnessing actor Clara Simpson’s powerful and meticulous performance of ‘Not I’.

With only her mouth visible by spotlight in the darkness, she performed the fast-paced Beckett play without any flaws, firstly in English, and then in French, leaving the audience in awe of her talent and contemplating what was to come next.

Singer Ruby Philogene leads the people out of the cave while singing all the way.

As the performance concluded, the audience members departed the boat and swiftly began their journey through Hell.

As the voices of Cantors before me slowly became louder, the effect became clear. Soon my voice was among the babble, as I began reading Danté’s dark words describing the horrors of Hell.

To the audience, who were now warily marauding through the cold, dark caves, we were lost souls whose voices, of varying accents and tongues, were adding to the feeling of foreboding that they were gradually experiencing.

Singer Ruby Philogene leads the people out of the cave while singing all the way.

However, they were soon relieved of this feeling thanks to opera singer Ruby Philogene, whose angelic rendition of Dido’s Lament lifted the darkness, replacing it with hope before she physically led the audience from the depths of Hell to the light of the natural world above, singing ‘Amazing Grace’.

For audience members and performers alike, it was an experience that unsettled and thrilled in equal measure.

Annie-Lou McCurry, Glenn McGivern, Pouki Pawlaczyk, Fionnuala Curran, Lucy Lynch and Ann McDermott.

Far from being a hellish experience for we, the participating Cantors, the experience was moving and memorable, and I can’t wait to see how next year’s festival may follow this highlight that was given such memorable life, deep underground.