55 minutes | age guidance 12+ | The Zugunruhe stream has the option for Captions & subtitles
Climate Museum UK are pleased to be able to host this new online version of Zugunruhe from Mechanimal in partnership with Pound Arts, Wiltshire.
Filmed at The Pound arts centre and on location in the south west during the January lockdown, Mechanimal present a digital imagining of their award-winning show, Zugunruhe, devised and performed by Tom Bailey.
Zugunruhe (zoo-gun-rue): an ornithology term for ‘migratory restlessness in birds’. This show explores the incredible flight of a marsh warbler, the world’s only bird whose song echoes its migration route. Body-compasses, magnetic fields, African sunsets, star-chasing, storm-riding, homing…
Zugunruhe aims to widen the lens on the way we think about migration, looking at it from the point of view of natural history and evolution. By specifically exploring birds, the show takes audiences on a fascinating journey into non-human migration in the 21st century – and how this might in turn offer reflections on human movement.
Rehearsing among birds in the wetlands of Somerset, performer Tom Bailey creates a feast of bird behaviour alongside a digital sound map of the marsh warbler’s journey, made by composer Rowan Evans.
Mechanimal makes touring live performance that explores life on a changing planet. The company are currently working on the development of their latest project, Megalith, an exploration on Copper Mining. A previous piece, Vigil explored the subject of Extinction.
The themes of these three pieces, Vigil, Zugunruhe and Megalith, echo our own concerns at Climate Museum UK, and highlight the need to move away from a extractivist, colonial culture towards a regenerative one, in which the voices and needs of all beings are heard and respected.
Pound Arts advise audiences to wear headphones for the full audio experience, and a more intimate and personal connection to the piece and peformance. It is free to stream, and will be available to watch on demand until Wednesday 31 March 2021 via vimeo.
Winner of an Edinburgh Fringe Herald Angel Award 2018
‘Unusual, utterly compelling solo show’ ★★★★ – The Herald
‘Global and international… a unique and mesmerising production’ ★★★★ – Fest
‘Thoughtful, well-performed and beautiful show’ ★★★★ – Fringe Review
‘Extraordinary… moving and enlightening’ – New Scientist
‘Never thought I would be so engrossed by watching a man pretending to be a marsh warbler trying to fly the nest for the first time’ – Lyn Gardner
This digital reimagining was funded by Arts Council England with support from Pound Arts
The original stage piece was developed in residence at UCL Migration Research Unit. Supported by The Leverhulme Trust, Arts Council England and Red Brick Building.
Climate Museum UK 