Commissioned by Holly Bodmer, the curator of Peregrinations, to create a live performance for Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2020, Total Ensemble was unperturbed by the necessary delay in production, relishing the extra incubation time. Much time was spent protecting the creative nest, surviving the odds and adapting to nature. It was a great joy to finally witness the hatching of all the creative hearts and minds and rehearse material just in time to fledge for NNF 21.
Inspired by the Norwich Peregrine Falcons creative contributions were made over the course of 20 Total Ensemble online theatre workshops. Participants were invited into the world of the nesting box, courtesy of a live stream via a nest cam, run by the Hawk and Owl Trust.
Participants were encouraged to research, write, paint, draw, sing and dance in celebration of the ten year anniversary of the creation of the nesting box platform at the top of Norwich Cathedral’s spire and explore the wider peregrinations of its formidable tenants!
After very few ‘real’ rehearsals, held outside, due to COVID 19 and battling the extraordinary storms and low temperatures of late April and early May, Total Ensemble Theatre Company performed
‘Peregrin-Aria’,
a study in movement for our
Peregrine Falcons.
An exploration in texture, mood, sounds, nature and natural movement, inspired by the creative offerings of the 30 participants that attended the series of online workshops from September 2020 and throughout the winter and spring of 2021.
Painting by Laura de Oliveira
