GRIEF IS
THE THING
WITH FEATHERS
The subject matter itself, and the daringly raw delivery....feel vital. I would not want to see the piece tapering its edge to accommodate for a specific audience. The edge is where the work lives.’
- One Dance. U.K. Review, 2024.
A radical new dance adaptation of Max Porter’s award-winning novel.
In this "poignant and vital" (One Dance UK) reimagining of a timeless text, five dance performers take audiences on a journey of despair, humour, and resilience in a highly charged and controversial new dance-theatre work.
Told through the company’s unique choreographic language — 'Hypha' — Grief Is the Thing with Feathers follows the story of a father, his two sons, and the sudden loss of their wife and mother.
At the heart of their grief appears Crow — antagonist, trickster, babysitter — the volatile centre around which this dark, yet tender story of family and loss unfolds.
Crow lives within all characters, both wreaking havoc and provoking transformation. Performed to live music, and within the breadth and depth of Calcutt's viscerally poetic choreography, audiences will witness a powerful new mode of physical storytelling that ‘breaks language.'
MEDIA
A docu-film by Paul Stringer. Created in partnership with Arts Council England, 2023.
THE ARENA THEATRE SHOWCASE
Perfomed as part LEAP Festival March 2024, created in partnership with The Arena Theatre, One Dance U.K., and Arts Council England.
Tour Dates
Coming soon...
CREDITS
Direction & Choreography Helen Calcutt
DANCE ARTISTS:
Claire Victoria Lamert (Boys)
Katie Albon (Boys)
Frankie Hickman & David Evans (Dad)
Holly Jones & Harriet Ellis (Mom)
Jessica Van De Koot (Lead Crow)
PRODUCER:
Callum Holt
MARKETING:
Josephine Sillars
FILM:
Paul Stringer & YDT Studios
REHEARSAL DIRECTION:
Harriet Ellis & Sara MacQueen
MUSICAL COMPOSITIONS:
Jobe Baker Sullivan, Dominic O Sullivan, Barnaby Taylor