Piercing the Veil: A Samhain Celebration
Piercing the Veil is a mythic, music-driven performance ritual that weaves Celtic legend, puppetry, and personal storytelling into a meditation on change, memory, and what it takes to stay awake in a burning world. Anchored by Brigid—a hearth-keeper moving from maiden to mother to crone—the piece unfolds across Samhain, when the veil between worlds thins and ancestors, spirits, and the living briefly commune. Through epic tales of Lugh, Fionn, and Oisín, alongside intimate reflections on land, loss, and modern disconnection, the work invites the audience into a liminal space where grief and wonder coexist. Part concert, part puppet epic, part kitchen-table ritual, Piercing the Veil honors endings as sacred thresholds—and reminds us that transformation is both inevitable and profoundly human. Directed by Štěpán Šimek, written and performed Briana Ratterman Trevithick, and featuring the music of Musica Universalis and the puppetry of Kettlehead Studios. Photos below by Joe Cantrell.
Piercing the Veil ran for two sold-out weeks in October 2023.
