After the success of their critically-acclaimed international hit The Nature of Forgetting, Theatre Re returns with ‘a rich tapestry of ongoing humanity’ (The Scotsman) about the evolution of family. Brought to life with incredible live music, BIRTH is a poignant piece of visual theatre exploring relationships and inter-generational connections.
Theatre Re has garnered a national and international reputation for creating world class, deeply moving, and visually striking poetic theatre. They have toured the world with sell outs in London, New York, Hong Kong, South Korea and South America.
Emily is eight months pregnant when she reads her grandmother’s journal. As she delves into the depths of her family history, its pages unveil a legacy of unspoken tragedies, courage and unconditional love. BIRTH traces the journey of three women from the same family as they discover self-acceptance, hope and strength in each other.
Deftly tackling the sensitive topic of loss during pregnancy, the production explores the fragility of life. As with all Theatre Re’s work, the production has undergone an extensive research period where those involved have also drawn on personal experience surrounding loss. They will be collaborating with charity Aching Arms whose aim is to raise awareness of the impact of pregnancy and baby loss and to bring some comfort to bereaved parents and their families.
With Aching Arms, they will present a series of pre and post show chats at various venues throughout the tour providing support and further information to audiences.
Company director Guillaume Pige comments, BIRTH is a celebration of family with all its joy, pain and secrets. Throughout the development process, we unearthed the parallels between our own lives and the lives of our parents and grandparents.
We looked at the moments that have been an important part of family life for generations and that we want to remember. We also looked at the ones we tried to forget, but that meant so much at the time and defined who we are.
Established as a professional ensemble in 2011, Theatre Re is one of the UK’s leading visual theatre companies. Rooted in Etienne Decroux’s Corporeal Mime, productions use movement, music and design to tell stories. Their work crosses disciplines, with past projects taking inspiration from science, philosophy, psychology, public health and education to address global human challenges, bring people together and develop empathy with strength and delicacy.
Collaborations with community organisations throughout the creation process are central to the company’s work. BIRTH is a visual performance piece which is accessible for D/deaf and hard of hearing audiences.
BIRTH will tour 29th September to 19th November. Full details can be found here
