Canary
Meet the Canaries, a motley crew of munitions workers doing their bit for the war effort. An air raid on their shell shop sends them on a cordite-fuelled journey through euphoric emancipation, forbidden friendships and anarchic dreams. A grotesque and subversive comedy based on the real life testimonies from Britain's unsung war heroes.
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BREAKING NEWS!!
We WON the Audience Award at the Prague Fringe! Following a fantastic run at the Prague Fringe Festival, playing to a warm and receptive audience we WON the Fringe Audience Award for 'Canary'. Audiences were encouraged to vote for their favourite show on the Fringe website throughout the festival. The company were shocked but delighted and humbled by the award which confirms about the universality of the show and its themes as well as the importance of sharing these women's stories. |
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‘Canary ’ is a live theatre piece inspired by the stories of the women who worked in Britain's munitions factories during the First World War. Set during a zeppelin air raid, Canary uses physical theatre and sound design to create a darkly comedic visceral experience that gives a voice to Britain's Munitionettes.
Canary was made with my theatre company, Fun in the Oven. We are a multi-disciplinary theatre collective based in Newcastle. Founded in 2015, we combine physical theatre, dance and storytelling to create dynamic shows that are ambitious, accessible and subversive. We love to tell stories that are political, real and unexpected using bold aesthetics that titillate the senses.
Canary was made with my theatre company, Fun in the Oven. We are a multi-disciplinary theatre collective based in Newcastle. Founded in 2015, we combine physical theatre, dance and storytelling to create dynamic shows that are ambitious, accessible and subversive. We love to tell stories that are political, real and unexpected using bold aesthetics that titillate the senses.
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Written & performed by Robyn Hambrook, Alys North & Katie Tranter
Directed by Andrea Jiménez Movement Direction by Noemi Rodríguez Sound Design by Roma Yagnik Film by Lesley-anne Rose Costumes by Amy Jones & Sam Fisher Voice of the Patriarchy is Lawrence Neale |
ABOUT ROBYN
Robyn is a Bristol-based director, teacher and performer. With over 20 years experience she is a passionate practitioner of clowning, physical theatre, circus and street arts. She has a MA in Circus Directing, a Diploma of Physical Theatre Practice and trained with a long line of inspiring teachers including Holly Stoppit, Peta Lily, Giovanni Fusetti, Bim Mason, Jon Davison, Zuma Puma, Lucy Hopkins and John Wright.
Over the past five years she has been exploring the meeting point of clowning and a deep desire to address the injustices in the world. This specialism has developed through her Masters Research ‘Small Circus Acts of Resistance’, on the streets and in protests with the Bristol Rebel Clowns and in research residencies with The Trickster Laboratory. Robyn’s Activist Clown research has led to collaborations with Jay Jordan (Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination, France), Clown Me In (Beirut), LM Bogad (US), Hilary Ramsden (Greece) and international Tricksters; ‘The Yes Men’ (US). During the pandemic in 2020, Robyn set up The Online Clown Academy with Holly Stoppit and developed a series of Zoom Clown Courses. Robyn’s research, started during her Masters, has been exploring the meeting point of clowning and activism, online, in the real world and with international collaborators. With this drive to explore political edges of her work she has also dived back into the world of the Bouffon; training with Jaime Mears, Bim Mason, Nathaniel Justiniano, Eric Davis, Tim Licata, Al Seed and the grand master Bouffon-himself; Philippe Gaulier. Keen to explore the intersection of clowning and politics, Robyn is driven to create collaborative, research spaces, testing and pushing the limits of the artform to create new knowledge and methodologies for her industry and strengthen partnerships for future work. Some of her most recent collaborations and teaching projects have included the Nomadic Rebel Clown Academy (5-day Activist Clown Training), The Laboratory of the Un-beautiful (Feminist Grotesque Bouffon Training for Womxn Theatre Makers) and the Clown Congress (annual gathering of clowns, activists & academics collectively exploring what it means to be a clown in this current era) |
Photo by HeardinLondon Photography
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