Music
25 Mar 25

Theatre - On Our Radar Q&A: "With every gig, we always wanted to improve our set, sound and performance"

Theatre

As they head out on a UK tour with Gurriers, rising Limerick stars Theatre discuss mixing post-punk and folk, finding their studio feet and building a live audience.

Tell us about how you mix post-punk and folk.

Sean: I feel like as the last few months have gone on, we’ve taken a lot more inspiration from ’80s and ’90s bands than previously. It’s just a by-product of being in a band: you’re always going to be expanding each other’s taste.

What’s been the biggest learning curve over the past couple of years?

Maeve: The demoing process – because we started writing music without a lot of studio practice at all. So the way that studios work still feels really new. But I think the biggest learning curve is that we all have a different work ethic. Some of us would be really laidback, and then I like to have a plan written out, and a schedule. It’s more just finding that middle ground on how to work together – you take different elements and try to merge it into something lovely. That’s where you start to really enjoy the studio, be in the moment, and take it as its own separate experience.

How have you managed to build an audience without officially releasing any music?

Dara: It came down to the work we’ve put in. We’d done a couple of very small shows in Dublin, completely under the radar. And we just kept going and kept writing. With every gig, we always wanted to improve our set, sound and performance. Every time we played in Dublin, a few more people caught on – the word spread a little more each time.

How do you feel about heading out on tour with Gurriers?

Sean: It makes it seem so much more real than it has been up until this point. It’s a completely different routine and operation than we’re used to. It’s not even a case of it being one show – it’s one after another for almost two weeks. So it definitely is a huge step up. And I feel like it’ll show our commitment to the band, to be able to go over and do something this intense, especially for our first go.

• Theatre open for Gurriers on their March 25 to May 5 UK tour, which includes a Scala, London date on the 27th.