» some recent projects

» Space Odyssey "The Orchestra of the Swan has for many years undertaken outreach work at Welcombe Hills, and its conductor David Curtis, had the idea to bring three schools [Welcombe Hills with Thomas Jolyffe and Wilmcote Schools] together in this new opera. The theatrical side was taken care of by the imaginative and enterprising Talking Birds Company from Coventry. And the result was stunning. A packed arena-style audience was enthralled as Odysseus and his crew made the ten-year journey home after victory on the planet Troy, the children sang and acted with immense professionalism, and the adult professionals, headed by Mathew Sharp, Georgia Ginsberg, and David Bradley (narrator and particularly nasty baddie), performed with a commitment totally respectful of their young colleagues. Curtis conducted his willing orchestra with verve in Derek Nisbet’s communicative score, Nick Walker's script was a model of wit and directness, and vocal coach Rebecca Ledgard drew every ounce of pathos and glee from these amazing children." [Christopher Morley, Birmingham Post]

» Forever In Your Debt "This is a very well-articulated play, with strong, rhetorical writing and performances to match. The set design is highly imaginative. Trap doors allow for the characters to move easily and to negotiate their roles as both actors and musicians. Thom, the director, uses elements of physical theatre to create moments of pause – the frozen statues that form a bodily refrain throughout the play – and these heighten the symmetry of the work. Derek Nisbet has composed songs for each of the characters, plus several ensemble works, and the rickety rhythms of his off-kilter klezmer ratchet up the feeling of panic that the play creates so well." [ACE Peer Review] Talking Birds/Foursight Theatre co-production, touring.

» Theatre Spectres Collaborative site-responsive theatre short created in a week within the highly charged Winter Gardens in Morecambe, during the Talking Birds Summer School presented by the Nuffield Theatre at Lancaster University.

» Dŵr Caru|Sweet Water An entrepreneur seeks to cash in on a border community’s water source. As the drilling rig probes the site, uncovering layers of history as well as geology, ancient grudges and dormant passions are disturbed. Play involving an 80 strong cast and choir, made for a geodesic dome on the Welsh border and produced in collaboration with Landscape.

» Masterplan A three year residency in Stivichall Primary School, exploring learning spaces and the degree to which artists and a school community can be involved in and influence the design of a new school building. Culminating in a group of pupils designing the school toilets. For more, plus photos, see www.masterplan.org.uk. A Creative Partnerships funded project.

» One Voice One Voice is a piece for three choirs, soloists, accordion and narrator, commissioned for Holocaust Memorial Day 2009. Holocaust Memorial Day is the international day of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust and of other genocides, and Coventry was the host city in 2009 for the national commemorative event in the UK, held at the Belgrade Theatre on 25th January, where One Voice was performed following the premiere at the Herbert Art Gallery.

» Trevor Goose & his Dark Night of Lights Trevor Goose and His Dark Night of Lights attempts to tell the bleak, yet moving, tale of The Little Match Girl, but internal difficulties with the band - Hans Christian and the Andersons – as well as with a Danish tourism officer and a missing celebrity mean the evening soon turns into the painfully amusing spectacle of a cabaret coming face to face with it’s own dark failings. Premiered at Taylor John's House, Canal Basin Vaults, Coventry December 07. View on YouTube: Click here!

» Market Forces As part of Architecture Week 07, Talking Birds and guest artists were in residence on stall 80 of the Retail Market in Coventry City Centre. During the residency the stall hosted Coventry's most exclusive cinema for the premiere of a thriller set in the underbelly of Europe's only circular retail market; and the debut of the region's newest chamber orchestra, peopled by transistor radios purchased from Coventry Retail Market over the past 5 years.

» The Last Lot THE LAST LOT was a weekend of theatre to mark the closing of the Mart on the Barrack Street site, Kilkenny, before trade moved to the new agri-retail park off the Carlow Road. It was a collaboration between UK based Talking Birds, Kilkenny County Council’s Arts Office, and various artists and arts groups in Kilkenny County.

» Space of Possibilities A cultural strategy. Sounds dull, sometimes it is dull, and the process of writing can be even duller. Its impact on a city, though, is huge, or at least it should be. And if it isn’t, then what’s the point of writing it at all? We wanted to explore a different way of creating, and then presenting, a cultural strategy. We thought a good way of starting would be to ask people who’d never heard of a cultural strategy. Download a PDF of the accompanying programme leaflet by clicking here.

» Other Coventry<>Other Volgograd This exhibition twinned the work of contemporary artists working in Volgograd, Russia with artists working in Coventry, UK. View Virtual Exhibition

» The Whale "I loved being swallowed by a whale." "It was very beautiful and funny." "Unexpected and fabulous." "Like nothing I have experienced before." "A Musical Poetic Whale - absolutely fantastic." The Whale is a performance of 3 minutes for 1 audience member at a time. "I couldn't stop laughing. "You leave feeling lifted, warm...and with a small gift." "I was transfixed, amused, and highly entertained." "I really really really loved it." The Whale is suitable for audiences aged 1-100. Audience capacity 100-200 per day. Wheelchair accessible. View on YouTube: Click here! The Whale is available for festivals and events, please contact Talking Birds for more.

» Three Doctors THREE DOCTORS was a performance as part of One Last Look to mark the closing of Coventry & Warwickshire Hospital (which is being relocated to the new University Hospital in Walsgrave). Talking Birds marked this significant moment for the city by guiding an audience of 12 at a time through the corridors and operating theatres that have held the stories of thousands of local people, accompanied by voices, music and the ghosts of doctors Arrowsmith, Bourne and Mellor. Commissioned by the Centre for the History of Medicine, University of Warwick - see http://www.warwick.ac.uk/go/hospitalproject/

» 25/7 25/7 was made for an empty restaurant unit in Priory Place, Coventry. As the Olympic stadium burns, tanks approach, and a markswoman focusses her sights on a target at the train station, an ambitious reporter feels a restaurant would be the ideal location for his newsroom. With live jingles, an 'unfolding situation', and an unhinged restauranteur, the reporter soon becomes too embedded for comfort. "Very cleverly composed both technically and in terms of narrative (although the "revolve" effect was making me a bit queasy!). Poignantly entertaining- thank you!" [audience member]

You may also be interested in some of our online projects: » Masterplan - school re-design projects with Creative Partnerships » The Cork Report - web-based project commissioned for the 50th Cork Film Festival » Twin60 - web-based project exploring the twinning of Coventry & Volgograd » The Virtual Fringe - an imaginary festival exploring Coventry's lost venues » Helloland - 'akin to taking part in a David Lynch movie' [The Independent]

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