Photo by Claire Haig, Climate Grief Karaoke, Cambridge Junction Disrupt Festival 2023
I am a performance maker who creates projects that lean towards the tongue in cheek, playful and political. Sometimes working in a solo capacity and often with collaborators, I am interested in using the joy of performing to explore the difficult and messy business of being alive. I make Live Art that can be found in theatres, but have also made projects for public spaces/community settings and digital spaces.
My performances have been shown across the UK (★★★★ The Guardian, ★★★★ The Stage, ★★★★ The Scotsman, ★★★★ The Scottish Herald), including to organisations/venues such as Summerhall, The Lowry Manchester, Brighton Dome, The Sustainable Landing Hub, The Tron Theatre, Harlow Playhouse, The Yard Theatre, In Between Time, SPILL Festival and The Rich Mix. My projects have been supported by organisations including The National Theatre of Scotland, Tramway, Feral Arts, The Tom Hunter Foundation, Arts Council England and Creative Scotland. In 2018 I received The Autopsy Award from Summerhall and Feral Arts (Edinburgh Fringe) for Contemporary Performance.
I have worked on a range of community/facilitation projects including with The Arden School of Theatre (Manchester) and The Creative Collective (Platform Theatre), as well as in a producing capacity for artists such as Craig Manson. I have also worked with Penny Chivas as Sustainability Advisor for her performance of Burnt Out, touring across Scotland 2023, working with her creative team to embed Sustainability across all areas of production, read interview with Dance Art Journal on my work in this area here.
Performance/development dates:
2023
Climate Grief Karaoke, The MAC Big Green Weekender Festival, 16th September, Birmingham
Sustainability Advice/Performance discussion mediator on tour with Penny Chivas dance Project Burnt Out 4th - 13th September, Orkney/Nairn
Climate Grief Karaoke DISRUPT Festival Cambridge Junction, 27th May Cambridge
Climate Grief Karaoke Residency/rehearsals, Harlow Playhouse, 23rd - 26th May, Essex
Climate Grief Karaoke work in progress performance, Climate Week North East, The Lemon Tree, 29th March, Aberdeen
Climate Grief Karaoke Residency, Harlow Playhouse, 27th February - 3rd March, Essex
Climate Grief Karaoke Residency, Take Me Somewhere Studio, 30th January - 4th February, Glasgow
Workshop for students at Arden School of Theatre, Theatre and Sustainability (in affiliation with Climate Grief Karaoke project), Tuesday 24th January, Manchester
2022
Climate Grief Karaoke, R&D, Harlow Playhouse 4th - 6th October 2022
Climate Grief Karaoke, Totally Thames (Thames Festival), Friday 30th September, Royal Docks - London
2021
Climate Grief Karaoke at The Landing Hub, 12th November, Glasgow during COP26
Climate Grief Karaoke SPILL Festival, 31st October, Ipswich
Climate Grief Karaoke work in progress performance at The Yard Theatre, part of Climate Works, 28th July, London
Research and Development Climate Grief Karaoke with Sound Artist Nicol Parkinson, 1st, 7th, 8th, 19th and 22nd July, The Yard Theatre, London
'Normal?' Conversations: What is the climate crisis doing to our mental health? discussion based on Climate Grief project with Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival, 18th May, 3 - 4pm, Glasgow (Digital)
2020
RATS! My Own Private Audio Podcast, Feral Arts Scotland, December, Glasgow/Digital
Climate Grief Karaoke Performance Installation - Waterloo Vaults, for ‘Extinction Underground’ event, 22nd February, London
Workshop for students from Theatre and Performance Course at Arden School of Theatre 24th January, Manchester
2019
The Memoirs of a Fag Hag, 21st September 10pm, part of Emergency Festival curated by Word of Warning, Manchester Z Arts Centre
The Memoirs of a Fag Hag, 1st July 7:30pm, part of Live Drafts Festival, The Yard Theatre, London
Baby Face 23rd March 8pm, Harlow Playhouse, Essex (with post show Q&A)
Baby Face 20th March 8pm, The Lowry, Manchester
Baby Face 8th and 9th March, 7:30pm, Brighton Dome
Baby Face 6th March, Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield (with post show Q&A)
Baby Face 28th February 7:45pm Sheffield Theatre Delicatessen
Baby Face 7th, 8th, 9th February 8pm Tron Theatre, Glasgow (with post show Q&A)
Performer in ‘Diana Is Dead’ by FK Alexander 15th - 19th January The Yard Theatre
2018
Baby Face, Edinburgh Fringe run,1st - 26th August, Summerhall, Edinburgh
Work in progress sharing of Baby Face, Queer Theory, Glasgow, 27th June
Rehearsal and Development of Baby Face 22nd - 26th June in Stoke-on-Trent at Mitchell Arts Centre and Axis Arts Centre
Rehearsal and Development of Baby Face 29th May - Saturday 2nd June Battersea Arts Centre
Performer in 'Princess Diana is Dead and Who Shall We See About That?' by FK Alexander, for Femmetopia Festival, VFD, London, 26th May
Rehearsal and Development of Baby Face 1st - 4th May at Battersea Arts Centre
Work in progress sharing of Baby Face at Only Skin, The Pipe Factory, 8th May, Glasgow
Work in progress sharing of Baby Face at WhiteSpace Gallery, 22nd February, Edinburgh
2017
The Cats Mother with Craig Manson, Emergency Festival with Word of Warning, Z Arts Centre, 1st October, Manchester
Performance residency with artist Aby Watson as part of Starter Award, National Theatre of Scotland, 12th - 20th February, Glasgow
Baby Face (work in progress) In Between Time, The Wardrobe Theatre, 9th/10th February, Bristol
Flag, Camden People’s Theatre, 18th/19th April, London
2016
Flag work in progress performance at The Rich Mix, 25th November, London
Flag , work in progress performance at Buzzcut Double Thrills, CCA, 14th September, Glasgow.
Baby Face (work in progress) at Buzzcut Festival, Pearse Institute, 8th April, Glasgow.
RATS! Haphazard Festival Word of Warning event (short performance for young people’s day of live art) Z Arts Centre, 20th February, Manchester
2015
Baby Face (work in progress) at Camden People’s Theatre, part of Calm Down Dear Festival, 8th October, London
Funding/Residencies
Arts Council England Project Grants Climate Grief Karaoke 2022
Tide Changer commission Thames Festival Trust 2022
Climate Works Residency, The Yard Theatre, 2021
Arts Council England Emergency Fund for Individuals 2020
Arts Council England, Grants for The Arts for UK tour of Baby Face 2019
Tom Hunter’s 100 Disrupters award for projects ‘positively disrupting Scotland’, Baby Face 2018
Associate Artist with Platform Theatre, Glasgow, 2017–2018
National Theatre of Scotland Starter Artist Award 2017 (in collaboration with artist Aby Watson)
National Theatre of Scotland, Engine Room Residency 2017
New Bloods Artist, In Between Time 2017
Radical Ideas Commission, The Rich Mix 2016
Micro Commission, Word of Warning Manchester, Haphazard Festival 2016
Awards
Autopsy Award for Contemporary Performance for Baby Face, Summerhall, Edinburgh Fringe 2018
Lustrum Award for Best Festival Moments for Baby Face, Summerhall, Edinburgh Fringe 2018
Education
BA (Hons) Contemporary Performance Practice, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Selected Educational Projects Lead Artist on:
Arden School of Theatre, Manchester. Lead Artist for for students on Contemporary Performance Programme exploring Sustainability and Theatre Making January 2023.
Arden School of Theatre, Manchester. Lead Artist for day long workshop for students on Contemporary Performance Programme exploring making solo performance, January 2020.
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow. Lead Artist for day long workshop for students of the Transitions Programme exploring making solo performance, February 2019.
Lead Artist for The Creative Collective adult group at Platform Theatre Glasgow, creating sound installation of poems/stories for public exhibition, August–November 2017.
Climate Grief Karaoke, 2023, photo by Claire Haig