How did the idea for The Fallen come about?
I produced two shows this year (2025), one in Egypt and one in Belfast. These shows emerged from the same initial idea. I was trying to make one show, but eventually the one idea morphed into two narratives.
How does that happen?
Initially, I was trying to make a show inspired by “The Last Supper” but the table was made up of monarchs from the Ireland of the past; an ancient, mythical, Ireland which was comprised of magical creatures. That was the original idea.
Then I went on a residency to the Tyrone Guthrie Centre for two weeks. I took the ideas for that show with me and then I started reading “The Children of the Famine” trilogy and I made a connection between the show I had been commissioned to make in Cairo, which was supposed to be a show about a funeral for the Irish language, and these other ideas.
All sorts of other ideas were swirling around me; a funeral, three people, another group of characters, Irish traditions, folklore, Irish mythology and at the same time I was doing work with Tinderbox Theatre. I was part of a development programme called Incubate and during that programme I was given a task to write a prelude to a main story. I picked one of the characters I was thinking about, the Lord of the Fairies, and I wrote his background story.
How does that idea develop?
I was reading some old tales about the Sidhe (Shee) and the fairies of Ireland. Now, it is a complicated history, but these people were not really fairies, and they may have come from the heavens or maybe they came here on boats, but however they came here, they arrived on the hills of Ireland. I found out that this is a very similar story to one told in other places; in Mesopotamia, in Central and Latin America.
The story suggests that these people were here before the church, and they taught Irish people paganism, medicine and science and educated us, but when the Church arrived here, those people dedicated to the Church killed them. They returned to earth as changelings, as evil spirits, as goblins, as a god-like race. There were plenty of tales, stories and myths which were built up around this race of people.
You are still in the process of developing a new piece at this point?
I made up a story about the last Sidhe (Shee) in existence. That this particular Sidhe (Shee) was captured by one of the new Kings of Ireland, with the backing of the Church, and he tried to kill the Sidhe (Shee). This Sidhe (Shee) was immortal, and the King kept trying to hang him and he would not die, so eventually the King buried the Sidhe (Shee) under the Hill of Tara and that created the first fairy tree. The Fallen begins at that point.
To see more of Michael McEvoy’s work on to the links below
