The Rain Box – RTÉ Lyric FM (2017)

Artist: Karen Cunningham
Year: 2005
Material: Glass and metal
Photographer: Michael Kluvenik

The Rain Box – RTÉ Lyric FM 2017 
Jools Gilson & Sebastian Adams 

Listen here.

A rainy tale broadcast on the eve of St. Swithin’s Day.

This collaboration between RTÉ Lyric FM’s former Composer in Residence, Sebastian Adams and writer / broadcaster Jools Gilson, is a rainy fairy tale for your ears. This drizzly, torrential, playful piece of radio explores the science and poetry of rain through the tale of a child who finds a hidden box with rain falling inside, who discovers underworlds of rainy possibility. The Rain Box also takes its cue from old Irish words for rain and rainy days, which often tangle weather and emotion, so that gruamán is a gloomy spell of weather as well as a fit of despondency. The Rain Box listens to rainy science from Head of Geography at UCC, Dr. Kieran Hickey who tells us how raindrops form. We hear glimpses of rain wonder from artist Angela Ginn and the pleasures of running in the rain from climate scientist Clare Watson. Voices and stories float in the haunting sound worlds written by Gilson and composed by Adams. Moving from drizzle to downpour, and from curiosity to enchantment, The Rain Box is an innovative form of radio somewhere in the space between documentary, drama and sound art.

The Rain Box was nominated for a New York Festivals Award for Sound Art in 2018. 

Written and performed by Jools Gilson
Sound design: Sebastian Adams
Producer Eoin O’Kelly