The Last Moth – The Ark – Review

By No More Workhorse on March 11, 2026 • ( Leave a comment )

The Last Moth – The Ark – Review
by G. O’Byrne

“The Last Moth” at the Ark, Temple Bar, Dublin, from the 5th to the 15th of March 2026

This is a solo show for children aged 4 plus, developed in a collaboration between Jesse Jones and Naomi Moonveld Nkosi.

Naomi is a 19-year-old, emerging multidisciplinary artist and actress based in Dublin. Currently a first-year undergraduate studying English, Drama and Film at UCD, Naomi has been actively engaging with The Ark as an alumnus of The Children’s Council since 2017. She was commissioned in 2023 by the Ark, when Naomi was only 16 years old, to collaborate with Jesse Jones for The Last Moth as the Ark’s first co-commission of a work by a child and an adult.

Jesse Jones is a Dublin-based artist; her practice is multi-platform, working in film, performance and sculpture. She studied sculpture in NCAD and IADT and has been making film for gallery installations since 2005. She teaches on Sherkin Island, West Cork, for TU Dublin and is an elected member of Aosdana.

This solo piece features Niamh McAllister, who is an actress and writer from Bangor, County Down, based in Dublin and is a graduate of the BA Acting Course at The Lir. Niamh is a member of Broad Strokes Improv, an award-winning all-female and non-binary improv troupe.

The set in the Ark evokes a forest floor with tree trunks in the background. Cocoons which illuminate are hanging down from the ceiling. A caterpillar shape crawls slowly out from the wings and begins exploring the stage, amusing the children in the front row. As though just born, it explores its environment, initially frightened by the children and then warming to them as they present no threat. Later, it comes across a scroll on the floor which it explores and opens out, listing the names of many different kinds of moth and gradually reads them out to the children, almost as though it is discovering reading for the first time.

There is much gentle comedy in this first part of the show in the way the performer interacts with the children. We see the caterpillar nibbling on a nacho, which is referenced later on as a habit of the kind of moth the caterpillar will develop into. The moon appears on the backdrop with a smiling face and different kinds of moths flitting around it.

Later, there is a storm and rain, and the moon fades. Our caterpillar discovers a crescent-shaped cocoon, which it places in a gilded cage, and our caterpillar tries to work out what it must do to save the fading moon.

A ghostly costume with an illuminated head appears on stage, and we watch the caterpillar shedding its former form and wriggling into the costume, eventually ending up as a fully grown moth, the Last Moth of the title. In its culmination as a graceful winged moth, it dances in a simulated flight and sings with the moon, which returns in its full glory.

This is a show for younger children who will enjoy a simple story blending ‘movement, song and dance’. It is a gentle affair, with a positive message, but older kids might find it too straightforward when compared to the Pixar animations that pack them in at your local cinema. If you’re looking for something more sedate, this might hit the spot. The Ark has also thoughtfully provided an online information pack about moths and classroom packs in both Irish and English.

“The Last Moth” at the Ark, Temple Bar, Dublin, from the 5th to the 15th of March 2026.