Unearthed: Kinship

Director, Deviser, & Sound Assistant | 2022
Centre de Création | In partnership with The Guildhall School (Alles-sur-Dordogne, France)

Embracing the atmospheric qualities of a summer thunderstorm in the woods, and drawing personal inspiration from my roots in Appalachia and the playful, mischievous stories of my father's childhood, Kinship reminisces on the experience of brotherhood and simpler times. With a nod towards the character types in Aleksis Kivi's classic novel Seven Brothers, Kinship is a devised scene of contemporary circus that focuses on the personalities of The Leader, The Quiet One, The Smart One, and The Instigator.
Through the selected characters, Kinship investigates the theme of personal identity vs. group identity and ultimately evokes a comedic, yet heartfelt, moment of nostalgia. My devising process divided the work into four main artistic sections, each corresponding to a different phase in the life cycle of a thunderstorm.

2 performers in movement - one performer reaches out their arm, leaning forward, with a pointed finger and the other bends backward to avoid the two of them touching. They are dressed in tea-stained white joggers and tank tops.

3 performers crouch down, staring intently at a 4th performer who is standing and juggling 3 clubs. They are dressed in tea-stained white joggers and tank tops.

1 performer hands upside down from a rope chandelier, coming face to face with another performer who stands on the ground with a raised arm towards the performer in the chandelier. A 3rd performer lays on the floor behind the chandelier with their legs in the air. They are dressed in tea-stained white joggers and tank tops.

A performer juggles 2 clubs in the center, while a performer to the right walks with a club in hand and a performer to the left is mid front handspring. They are dressed in tea-stained white joggers and tank tops.

3 performers to the right hold the frame of a large metal cyr wheel. 1 performer is posed inside the cyr wheel, gripping the top with both arms and their legs brought high to the left side. They are LL dressed in tea-stained white joggers and tank tops.

3 performers stand in a line in the middle of a rope chandelier, all with their left arms straight out with a club in their hand. The performer at the front of the line also reaches their right arm up high with another club in hand. A 4th performer is running around the back of the chandelier in the distance. They are dressed in tea-stained white joggers and tank tops.

Cast

Wout Deneyer

Merri Heikkilä

Michele De Riu

Pablo Fraile Ruiz

Creative Team

Set & Costume Design Yifei He

Lighting Design Hazuki Mogan

Sound Design April Johnston

Production Manager Emily Dickson

Stage Manager Jennifer Honsa

Deputy Stage Manager Carrie Croft

LX Operation Caelan Oram

Sound Operation April Johnston

AV Operation Max Juan-Balch

With Thanks To
Paul Cockle, Abigail Yeates, Iwan Essery, Nick Terstenjak, Sylvie Roque, Anita Pentecote, Fabi Lormeau, Ben Wallace, Emily Orley, Ben Collins, Dylan Bate, Willard Zhong

Photography by Iwan Essery.