Siamsa T∅re's new show finally opened on Tuesday, after illness had forced a week's delay. It marked a return from recent shows, based on tales from Irish mythology and combining contemporary with Irish traditional dance, to the type of show that made Siamsa T∅re famous. This one focuses on customs and superstitions, in this case based on Halloween, with its bonfires, carved pumpkins, apple bobbing and masks. On the stroke of midnight, the real ghosts make their presence felt, together with the pooka and the cailleach, and a night of fear and enchantment follows.

There is a touching moment when a recently bereaved man (dance master Jonathan Kelliher) is comforted by the spirit of his dead sister, and traditional Irish dance is rightly abandoned for a druidic invocation scene around a bonfire. Elsewhere, it features strongly, including communication through tapped foot rhythms. The use of puppets is most effective; dancing, singing and music are all of the high standard we expect of Siamsa T∅re, and are a credit to director and choreographer Oliver Hurley, music director Tom Hanafin, choral arranger Colm O'Brien and the rest of the company, including the children, who performed like professionals.

There will be another performance of Samhain on Saturday