When: Knotty 2020: Fragments of a Festival (online)
Link: Full Knotty 2020 Programme
Bird Rave
Bird Rave was due to be presented at the 2020 Knotty Performance Festival as a work-in-progress show around bird watching and raving…bringing together a diverse group of artists for an interactive “dancefloor ornithology” performance.
From a special hide the ‘bird-watcher’ audience member would watch for rare ‘birds’ (artists in extraordinary costumes) and as a finale, be encouraged to join their dance. A highly visual reflection of the “dance” of nature (bird flocks; mating dances; nesting rituals), Bird Rave is also a celebration of classic rave music and the group rituals of the days of early rave.
Bird Rave explores themes of rituals, environmental issues, the protection of nature, the freedom to move and migration.
Below you will find a Bird Rave Log Book as a behind-the-scenes glimpse into my research and development process.
This is a record of the birds to look out for in the show with notes on each species’ behaviour and gives a sense of the visual style and feel of the show.
The birds have been chosen for their (sometimes abstract) connections to rave culture.
The sightings include illustrations of the plumages created by wig artist Darren Evans, notes on costumes and accompanying rave tracks which also form the playlist below for you to listen to whilst reading.
