Death Biscuits – Project Arts Centre – Review
by Frank L.

Honey & Lemon – 13 – 16 May 2026
Death Biscuits choreographed, directed and conceived by Millie Daniel-Dempsey and Amy Robyn Lyster, aka Lemon and Honey.

Duration – Approx 70 minutes

Death Biscuits or Funeral Biscuits used to be a common phenomenon at funerals in the nineteenth century. It appears, from Wikipedia, that they were even commercially produced. It is difficult to discern what their precise purpose was. However, at a funeral, words seem entirely inadequate. Such a phenomenon is not unique to funerals. The death biscuits at funerals presumably helped to fill the awkward silences.

Nowadays, the constant visual and oral bombardment, which is ubiquitous, similarly makes it almost impossible to speak or even think. It is in that space, or rather lack of space, that Lemon and Honey suggest that you abandon words and thought and instead embrace the need to dance. According to the programme notes, “it is a show about the moments where, when all else fails, and there’s nothing left to say, we dance…”. That is the concept which drives this piece.

The auditorium is clear of clutter. There are two rows of five dancers facing each other. Along the other two walls are two rows of seating for the audience. So the dancers are sitting opposite each other, and the members of the audience are also sitting opposite each other. The central space is empty. Overhead, in four rows, are three strip lights.

Four of the dancers are professionals; the other six have been chosen by Lemon and Honey following an open call. At each performance, they are different. There are constant but ever-changing snippets of news, advertising verbiage and various statements all gleaned from the mass of media outlets which are now available. At times, a familiar song provides a sort of “rock” onto which you can cling.

Initially, the ten actors remain motionless in their chairs. With various sounds filling the space after a while, Millie Daniel-Dempsey, in contorted slow movements, leaves her chair. Gradually, she is joined by the entire cast. They move around the central space with various body gestures. But eventually there remain four dancers: Daniel-Dempsey and her three professional colleagues, Jack Anderson, Monica Munoz and Libby Seward. The six non-professionals have become observers back in their chairs. Anderson, Daniel-Dempsey, Munoz and Seward are physically very different, and in addition, they are of different ages. They have solo parts but also dance in unison. All the time, there are constantly changing sounds, and the lighting is similarly in constant flux. The only response to this cacophony of sound is to dance. Towards the end, the other six dancers return to the stage and invite all members of the audience to dance on the stage.

At all times, whether the stage is occupied by the professionals, by the professionals and the open call dancers or the finale, which includes the audience, dance is the only response to the perpetually changing sound. Together, the ten dancers, the ever-changing sounds, and the lighting create a world where dance is the only possible response and is all that matters. Dance brings a semblance of order to the chaos of the ever-changing sounds. It creates its own magic.

Cast and Crew – 

Direction & Concept Millie Daniel-Dempsey & Amy Robyn Lyster

Choreography Millie Daniel-Dempsey & Amy Robyn Lyster in collaboration with the performers

Performers Jack Anderson, Libby Seward, Millie Daniel-Dempsey, Monica Munoz, Robbie Blake

Lighting Designer Kevin Murphy

Sound Designer Aoife Kavanagh

Set & Costume Designer Freya Gillespie

Videographer Kristian Mantalvanos

Stage Manager Jack Leitch

Producer Karen Aguiar

Production Assistant Sarah Lynch

Rehearsal Director Emily Kilkenny Roddy

Research Collaborators Deirdre Griffin, Paula Bradley, Mary Ryan, Sarah Lynch

MC Stephen Alkin

Chief LX Archer Bradshaw

Stage Technician Damien Woods

Sound Engineer Eoin Murphy

Community Cast Therese Aherne, Joanna Kidney, Symph Watson, Ruth Petherick, Liz Shaw, Jess Majekodunmi, Isabella Biletta, Phil Stewart, James Scott, Corina Murphy, Jackie Tate, Frances McDonnell, K. Connaughton, Len Doyle

Graphic Designer Tom Warner

Photographer Kristian Mantalvanos