A Sod State
Sod State weaves together hope, despair, and madness, portraying protest as both an emotional ‘state of affairs’ and a political act. The pre- and post-Brexit Troubles in Northern Ireland are viewed as recurring political theatre. These Northern Irish problems, set within the mind of a confused Irishman, unfold as a fraught inner dialogue on social class, religion and private, public and political boundaries. Ryan integrates archival footage and contemporary media images with his own grotesque and nightmarish puppet show. The confused man’s emotionally charged retrospection on the political violence, which included killings staged for media attention, symbolises the tensions that still exist in Northern Ireland.