The Surge review – a wild and haunting wake for Sinéad O’Connor

Aviva Studios, Manchester
The late singer gets a thrilling tribute from a cast of 10 dancers in Sonya Taleh’s heartfelt show

‘I’m just a troubled soul who needs to scream into a mic now and then,” said Sinéad O’Connor. Troubles and screams both sing out in The Surge, an ode to her by American choreographer Sonya Tayeh.

The singer, who died in 2023, attracted both worship and scorn in her lifetime. The Surge is an act of devotion – 10 women sit on pews, swaying, sliding and indeed surging around them. They leap up, circle and shudder as the songs possess them – moved and inspired, they might be dancing in tongues.
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