Witness the passionate drive of GAA at ‘Ham Sandwiches and Discipline’

NAF Dance invites you to an exciting new dance piece that welcomes a whole new audience to the theatre.

From mammies’ sideline screaming, batty umpires, manic pundits, Tayto eating in Croke Park, and teenage club socials, ‘Ham Sandwiches and Discipline’ delves into what makes this sport a national tradition.

While injecting this hive of Irishness with campiness and humour, the show glimpses what growing up can be like in Ireland and what can shape an Irish identity.

Witness the passionate drive of the GAA fused with dance, disco, and comedy in ‘Ham Sandwiches and Discipline’, a 55 minute production with no interval that is suitable for all ages.

Advisory warnings include small moments of flash lighting and partial nudity (a male performer removing their shirt).

The show will be performed in the studio space with unallocated seating, and theatregoers are encouraged to arrive early, as latecomers will not be admitted.

This week, we sat down with choreographer and performer Nora Ní Anluain Fay to discuss ‘Ham Sandwiches and Discipline’, which performs in the Civic from November 19 to 22.

What can you tell us about the story of ‘Ham Sandwiches’?

‘Ham Sandwiches and Discipline’ is a camp, comedic, disco, dance show all about the GAA and Irish culture as a whole.

From mammies’ sideline screaming, batty umpires, manic pundits, Tayto eating in Croke Park and teenage club socials, we delve into what makes this sport a national tradition.

While injecting this hive of Irishness with campiness and humour, we glimpse what growing up can be like in Ireland and what can shape an Irish identity.

‘Ham Sandwiches and Discipline’ is saturated with comedy, pop culture and poetic play in motion. The wackiness, passion and intensity come together in encapsulating the beautiful madness of the GAA.

What inspired you to take on this project?

It all started when I was watching ‘The Sunday Game’ with my family a few years ago, and the iconic Kerry footballer was on as a pundit.

I was simply mesmerised by how camp and animated his hand gestures were as he spoke that I thought it looked like a dance.

I turned to my mum and said I’m going to make a show about the GAA right after college. I’m intrinsically stubborn so that’s exactly what I did.

It started off with us simply depicting the play onstage, and I wasn’t sure where it was actually going.

I studied at Fontys University in the Netherlands, and the creation process coincided with when I was moving back to Ireland.

This made me realise that the piece was actually just about Irishness as a whole and depicting that through the GAA.

It gave me permission to charge it with campiness and humour, which made it the joyous production it now is.

What has been your favourite part of working on this production, and why?

This production and tour truly mean the world to me. It’s the biggest thing that I’ve taken on as a maker, a performer and with my company NAF Dance, and I’m endlessly proud of it.

It was so magical the first time we performed it at the Scene and Heard Festival in February 2024 and heard an audience laughing along with it. They reacted so deliciously to it, which was beyond exciting, as it really felt like we were onto a winner.

Since then we’ve performed it in Paris, at the Galway Theatre Festival, and at the Dublin Fringe Festival, where it was nominated for three Dublin Fringe Awards, as well as in community halls and basketball courts all around the country.

The fact that people can connect with the piece wherever and however it’s done brings me so much joy.

Whenever I see the cast and crew enjoying themselves, I can’t help but smile, thinking all this happened because I had an idea about Pat Spillane’s hands.

What challenges have you faced while working on this production, and how have you navigated them?

A never-ending battle for any production is always funding.

There simply isn’t enough arts funding in the country, and it is becoming ever more expensive to mount a show and get it out on the road.

You have to get really creative with the work you make but also how you make it happen.

So as a way of funding this tour, I’ve hosted workshops, dinner parties and a marathon running series.

In August I ran the Frank Duffy 10 mile, in September the Dublin Half Marathon and in October I ran the Full Dublin Marathon.

It was definitely a challenge trying to balance all of this with performing, but I just believe in the show so much and am willing to do anything to make it happen.

What was it like to balance choreography and performing?

It’s definitely hard trying to navigate being the choreographer, performer and artistic director of the company.

I really have to try and hop between each role without any of them bleeding into each other in order to be able to do any of them properly.

But selfishly I don’t want anyone else to do my role in the show, as I adore it so much.

It’s also such a joy sharing the stage with Ben Sullivan, as we grew up dancing together and have such trust in each other when we step out onto the stage.

All the challenges and headaches of running the production seem to fade away once I step onstage.

What is next for you? Do you have any more projects in the pipeline after this?

Once the tour is wrapped, I will definitely be taking a much-needed rest! But then we will be making a film version of ‘Ham Sandwiches and Discipline’ in my local GAA club thanks to a DLR and Creative Ireland Award.

I’m also continuously developing my next piece, which is a camp solo entitled ‘Please Break my Heart’.

I’ve performed shorter versions of it at Scene and Heard and Uillinn Dance Season this year, and the full-length production will premiere next year through a residency at the Irish Arts Centre New York.

I received an award from an Taibhdhearc to develop a piece in Irish, and I’m also starting work on a new show about Nora Barnacle.

Who would you like to thank for helping you with this production?

The acknowledgements list for ‘Ham Sandwiches and Discipline’ is pretty endless, but I would like to thank Uillinn Arts Centre, Galway Dance, Dance Ireland, Scene and Heard and our partners the Mermaid Arts Centre for believing in me and the idea as a whole.

Our incredible production and creative team who have brought the piece to life.

Everyone who has come to the show, donated to the marathon, and especially to Pat Spillane’s hands for starting all of this fabulous madness.