An ambitious new work from Beyond Words, Grief Is the Thing with Feathers adapts Max Porters celebrated novel into dance for the first time, reimagined through an interplay of words and bodies that renders grief as fully kinetic and alive.

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The production follows a father and two sons in the wake of sudden loss. Out of the wreckage, arrives Crow—antagonist, trickster, and “babysitting bird”—wreaking untold havoc and provoking vital transformation. 

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Executed by a formidable five-strong cast and set to a cinematic original score, the work is driven by Hypha, the company's signature language for embodied storytelling, unfolding against a backdrop of otherworldly, theatrical design.

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The result is a darkly comic, profoundly moving, and captivating interdisciplinary experience that lingers long after the curtain falls.

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Hailed as “poignant and vital” by One Dance UK, the production is deeply informed by Helen Calcutt’s lived experience of bereavement and mental health advocacy.

 

At its heart, the work champions human connection, anchoring itself in the power of physical language to reveal how narrative can be witnessed and shared through profound collective encounters.