Bill Whelan – Composer

Bill was composer to the W.B. Yeats International Theatre Festival at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre in 1989.  His adaptation of HMS Pinafore received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination. His compositional work in film includes Dancing At Lughnasa, Some Mother’s Son and Lamb.

The Seville Suite was commissioned for Expo ’92 in Seville and The Spirit Of Mayo followed in 1993. The Connemara Suite, a trilogy of pieces written for chamber orchestra, premiered in Carnegie Hall in March 2005.

Bill’s production and arranging credits include U2, Van Morrison, Kate Bush, Richard Harris, Planxty and The Dubliners.  He was honoured with the 1997 Grammy Award for ‘Best Musical Show Album’ for his Riverdance record.

Bill is on the boards of Berklee School of Music in Boston, University of Limerick and the recently established music education body Music Generation.  He is currently working on a new theatre work which has been commissioned by the New York Metropolitan Opera and Lincoln Centre.

Moya Doherty – Producer

Moya Doherty’s career includes theatre, radio and television production, both in Ireland and internationally. Moya is the Producer of Riverdance; is a director of Tyrone Productions, a founding Director of Today FM and in the past ten years has sat on a number of arts-related Boards including The Ark, Dublin Theatre Festival, Walnut Hill Arts School in Massachusetts and Business to Arts.  She is a current member of the Board of The Abbey Theatre.

Moya has received the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year, the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and Honorary Doctorates from the University of Ulster & from the National University of Ireland in recognition of her ongoing commitment to the world of the arts in Ireland.

Moya Doherty and John McColgan are currently producing, and are involved in, a diverse range of projects for the Irish and international stage.

John McColgan – Director

John McColgan’s career as a television director began in the mid seventies in RTÉ Television where he went on to become Head of Entertainment. He is a founding Director of Tyrone Productions, Ireland’s premier independent television production company and is Chairman of Today FM radio station. He is Chair of the global website project Gateway Ireland.
John played a key role in the evolution of Riverdance from the original seven-minute dance number and went on to direct the full stage-show spectacular. John has been closely involved with The Abbey Theatre – he was on the Board of the Theatre for five years, served as Chairman of the Abbey Centenary Committee and directed a critically acclaimed production of the 19^th century melodrama, The Shaughraun, for the theatre. John was artistic director of the entertainment to mark the state visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland in May 2011.
John has received many awards during his career, including an Honorary Doctorate of Law from the National University of Ireland in recognition of his services to the arts and entertainment industry.

Julian Erskine – Senior Executive Producer

Julian has worked in the entertainment industry for nearly 40 years. He started his career in stage management and after several years as a lighting designer and production manager he set up and managed Ireland’s first professional scenery supply company.

In 1989 he returned to the world of theatre as a free-lance producer and, in 1994, he joined the fledgling Riverdance team on a consultancy basis. A year later he was appointed Executive Producer and since then he has been responsible for all the Riverdance companies and productions worldwide.

From 2005 to 2010 he was a director of Long Road Productions, an independent entertainment production and management company and has recently formed his own company, Tumblehome Productions.

Robert Ballagh – Set Designer

Robert is one of Ireland’s most distinguished artists and designers.

As a painter, his work is represented in many important collections including the National Gallery of Ireland and the Albrecht Dürer House, Nuremberg. He has designed seventy stamps for the Irish Postal Service and the last ever Irish banknotes before the Euro conversion for the Central Bank of Ireland.

His striking stage designs for Steven Berkoff’s version of Oscar Wilde’s Salomé and Samuel Beckett’s Endgame have enjoyed international success and he designed the Opening Ceremony for the Special Olympics World Summer Games held in Croke Park, Dublin.

He is a member of Aosdána, a self-governing trust of Ireland’s most eminent artists, and a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science.

Joan Bergin – Costume Designer

Joan is one of Ireland’s best-known film costume designers. Film credits include My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father and Dancing at Lughnasa. She began her career in Theatre and Architectural Design, winning awards in both areas. She designed Brian Friel’s Translations on Broadway, and returned to New York’s Lincoln Center in 1999 for their Friel season.

More recently her work was seen on television in David Copperfield and on film in Veronica Guerin, directed by Joel Schumacher. Recent projects include The Prestige, shot in LA, and The Tudors, for which she has just won her third Emmy. She has also won two IFTAs for The Tudors.

Her most recent theatre work includes two Sam Shepard plays commissioned by the Abbey Theatre, Kicking a Dead Horse and Ages of the Moon directed by the actor/playwright, and Henrick Ibsens John Gabriel Borkman staring Alan Rickman also at the Abbey. Joan is currently involved in “Camelot” with Joseph Fienes and Eva Green.

Michael O’Gorman – Sound Designer

Michael was born in London and completed his education at Trinity College, Dublin. On returning to England he founded his own sound company with Don McLean as his first client.

He was next approached by The Chieftains management to provide sound for their British tour. This relationship formed the basis for the development of his interest in sound design.

He has provided sound design for diverse artistic requirements, including Bill Whelan’s The Seville Suite and The Spirit of Mayo, Eurovision ’93, ’94, ’95, The Shaughraun (The Abbey), The Wiremen, Aïda, Handel’s Messiah (250th anniversary at The Point), Sweeney Todd (The Gate), Mother Goose, Beauty and The Beast and Cinderella (The Gaiety).

Benjamin Pearcy – Lighting Designer

Benjamin has been with Riverdance since Radio City Music Hall in 1996, and also designed the show’s animated projections.  He has lit theatre, opera, and architectural projects around the world, including a new production of Carmen for the Beijing Opera, Whoopi! on Broadway, US national tours of Beauty and the Beast and My Fair Lady, and many other productions for opera and theatre companies across the US.

A frequent collaborator with artist James Turrell, he was the Lighting Designer for the acclaimed James Turrell Museum at the Hess Collection at Colomé.

He dedicates his work on Riverdance to the memory of friend and collaborator Rupert Murray.

The original Lighting Design for Riverdance – The Show was created by Rupert Murray – 3rd February 1951– 17th August 2006.  RIP

Rupert Murray – Lighting Designer

Rupert lived in Dublin, where he worked as a freelance lighting designer and producer. His design work has been seen in all of Ireland’s major theatres as well as internationally. As a producer, he co-ordinated the 1991 Beckett Festival in Dublin and produced a series of independent theatre productions between 1992 and 1996.

From 1996 to 2000, Rupert was Festival Director of the St. Patrick’s Festival in Dublin. He was Creative Director of the Opening Ceremony for the Special Olympics World Summer Games in 2003 and at the time of his death was Creative Director of the ceremonies associated with Ireland’s hosting of The Ryder Cup.

Rupert Murray  3rd February 1951 – 17th August 2006
May he rest in peace.