We suspect @bradantheatre might have a small fetish for salmon, but we are just as #obsessed with their work: intimate, music-infused narratives steeped in Celtic folklore. Their latest offering, ‘Cooking the Vegan Salmon of Knowledge’, adds food to the mix🐟🥕… We’ll admit the notion of “#vegan salmon” had our eyebrows raised, but our cynicism was quickly laid to rest. The allure of this performance is two-fold: the real-time creation of a (tasty!) dish😌 and the enchanting tales of each ingredient’s #journey😃… Part-lecturer, part-#MasterChef👨‍🍳, performer James Ireland emanates warmth & wisdom as they weave tales that transport us to #Ireland’s forested mountains whilst sharing fascinating histories of the food we take for granted. The #vibe is very cosy– imagine being beckoned closer to a campfire🔥…These are stories of both tragedy & hope– remembering the food sources that we have lost, and those that have adapted just to #survive in the environment we humans have fundamentally altered. There’s a perfect balance of levity & poignance…Ireland’s live #cooking fills the space with wondrous aromas. Carrots, soy sauce & garlic scents waft from a portable smoker, transporting us to a primal past. The complete immersion has us convinced that this show would work as a site-specific piece, perhaps with the audience camping by the lake in the Wicklow Mountains (#WeCanDream 🌄)… And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Bradan Theatre joint without a bit of gig theatre, would it? 🎶 Ireland beautifully rounds out this bite-sized, 30-minute piece with a blessing over the Vegan Salmon of Knowledge before we indulge. Their dulcet melodies are a rich complement to the food, grounding, memorialising and lending a sense of hope that humankind might find a way through #environmental catastrophe after all💚