Moonlarking is a new collaboration with writer Octavia Bright and visual artist Jessie Rodger, inspired by birds and birdsong from around the world. As the Night Section in Birdsong & Borders, it was premiered at LSO St Luke’s on July 5th, 2019.
Four very different birds take centre stage: the Nightingale, the Vulture, the Kingfisher and the Goldfinch. Octavia’s poems, written in the voices of these birds, engage with and sometimes subverting the stereotypical ideas we humans have assigned them.
Jessie created a pyramid frame, taking the form of an abstract bird cage as a starting point. This structure forms a triangular projection surface for footage, featuring the imagined homes of each bird as it appears alongside projections of dancer Hannah Moore, who plays with the characterful movement of the birds in her choreography.
Eventually, we plan to develop Moonlarking into a full theatrical performance featuring nine birds.
The other two sections in Birdsong & Borders, Dusk and Dawn, were performed with an ensemble of six musicians and live electronics.
The development of Moonlarking was generously supported by the Help Musicians Fusion Fund and the Reignwood Foundation.
Featured artists:
Merit Ariane: Voice and Compositions
Octavia Bright: Poetry
Jessie Rodger: Visuals
Hyelim Kim: Improvisations on Taegŭm (Korean Flute)
Jason Emberton: Sound Design
Dancer: Hannah Moore
Set Builder: Brett Cox
Annemarie Sand: Stage Direction
