This is about living but it began with a death.
This is about existing and not existing, and a child’s heart-bursting belief that there is something in between.
This is about love.
A woman remembers a girl who knew a woman who listened to the birds. Inspired by the depth of feeling in one tiny moment of knowing that the world would never be the same again, this evocative solo work, a collaboration between choreographer Christine Devaney, musician Luke Sutherland and artist Yvonne Buskie, explores the interplay between music, dance and the origins of stories.
“a moving offering of a life marked by love and loss” - The Scotsman, ★★★★
“A poetic and elliptical evocation of childhood memories of loss and resilience” - Fest Magazine
“Poignantly poetic… exquisite” - The Herald, ★★★★
Winner of the Herald Angel Award 2019, and runner up for The Scottish Theatre Award 2019
Header Photography by Yvonne Buskie/ Edited by Val Reid
Production Photography by: Maria Falconer
SPRING TOUR 2024
TUESDAY 19 MARCH - 7PM | (PREVIEW) LYRA / ARTSPACE | EDINBURGH - SOLD OUT
FRIDAY 22 & SATURDAY 23* MARCH - 7.30PM | THE TRON THEATRE | GLASGOW
TUESDAY 26 MARCH* - 7:30PM | LANTERNHOUSE ARTS | CUMBERNAULD
FRIDAY 29 MARCH* - 7:00PM | THE LEMON TREE | ABERDEEN
SUNDAY 31 MARCH - (MATINEE) 2.30PM | UNIVERSAL HALL | FINDHORN
THURSDAY 4 APRIL - 7:30PM | MACROBERT ARTS CENTRE | STIRLING
SATURDAY 6 APRIL - 7:30PM | THE BYRE THEATRE | ST. ANDREWS
ACCESS: *BSL interpreted performances.
STAYING ON
As part of the tour, Curious Seed will engage with a local artistic community, inviting artists to share readings of their own work at a curated gathering to follow the performances in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling and St Andrews. Co-curated by playwright and poet, Ellie Stewart, Staying On will feature some of Scotland’s most exciting artists. We invite audiences to stay on for an informal celebration of local talent: poems, prose, music and song. “When Christine first told me about the Staying On strand of the And the Birds Did Sing tour, it seemed like a beautiful thread in the company's creative practice of experimentation, engagement, and curiosity. It's a treat to be co-curating the programme of live performances from local artists. We're excited to be exploring different themes and forms, with old friends and new.” Ellie Stewart
TUE 19 MARCH (PREVIEW) | LYRA/ARTSPACE | Ellen Renton, Kolbrún Björt Sigfúsdóttir, Greg Sinclair
FRI 22 MARCH | THE TRON | Jack Dickson, Laura Bradshaw, Rose Dagul
SAT 23 MARCH | THE TRON | Skye Loneragan, Howie Reeve, Dorine Mugisha
FRI 29 MARCH | THE LEMON TREE | Laura Booth, Jo Gilbert, Jackill
THU 4 APRIL | MACROBERT | Laura Fyfe, Frances Ainslie, Malcolm Sutherland
SAT 6 APRIL | THE BYRE THEATRE | Rebecca Sharp, John McCann, Quee MacArthur
The artists at The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen have been selected in partnership with Aberdeen Performing Arts.
Our performance at Lanternhouse Arts, Cumbernauld is a double-bill with the Senior Youth Theatre. We’re delighted to have collaborated with the group, sharing our devising processes and the themes of the work. They have created their own special performance to follow And the Birds Did Sing.
Following the matinee performance at Universal Hall, Findhorn Christine Devaney and long-time friend and Creative Director of Dance North Scotland, Karl Jay-Lewin, will be in conversation, chatting about And the Birds Did Sing, Christine's work and life as an artist, and her love of Findhorn and the Moray coast.
CREATIVE & TOUR TEAM CREDITS
Written, choreographed & performed by Christine Devaney | Composer Luke Sutherland | Designer Yvonne Buskie | Lighting Designer Emma Jones | Tour Design Consultant Karen Tennent | Dance Collaborator Andrew Gardiner | Voice & Text Consultant Ben Joiner Staying On Co-Curator Ellie Stewart | Tour Production & Company Management Craig Fleming & Suzie Normand – SNC Productions Assistant Technical Stage Manager Francesca Fenech* | Original Production Dramaturgy & Direction Eszter Marsalkó
BSL Interpreter Rachel Amey | Audio Description Emma-Jane McHenry | Staying On BSL Interpreters Leslie Crerar, Yvonne Waddell Costume Maker Christine Watson | Tour Booking Support Sheena Miller - Rural Touring Agency
Marketing, Design & Publicity Anna Kjærgaard Fischer, Helen Eragona - Eragona Communications
Produced by Vicky Rutherford-O’Leary
2019 Production Trailer film by: D Fie Foe
*supported by a Federation of Scottish Theatre Bursary, with funding from Creative Scotland
“The story of Birdie fascinates me - it’s a little like a fairy tale seen through the eyes of the narrator when she was a child. Now an adult, she still seems, or perhaps needs to, believe it. I love the possibility that, by telling the story of Birdie, a woman we’re not even sure is real or not, we reveal so much more.
I’ve been collaborating with Musician Luke Sutherland for many years on projects of varied nature and scale. Our work comes from, what feels to me like an alchemy between music and movement; threads of stories often emerge and are woven through the work.
The title of this piece And the Birds Did Sing came to me during a challenging, but beautiful moment in my life. This was the seed from which everything else around this work has grown. I didn’t start with the intention that the fragments of text, movement and music would become one narrative. However, when visual artist, Yvonne Buskie, joined us in the studio, the story of Birdie emerged out of childhood memories being stirred.
It’s a very layered and responsive collaborative process between the three of us, which I hope is reflected in the show despite it becoming a solo.” - Christine Devaney