Keep an eye on the sky in the next few weeks and you might be lucky enough to catch some murmurations.
Murmurations – massive clouds of starlings flying in unison to their autumn roosts – are usually visible just before dusk throughout the autumn and winter.
And with up to 100,000 individual birds swooping and diving together, they show how one small change of direction can affect the behaviour of a whole flock.
It’s that ripple effect that director Nathan Curry hope to harness when he brings outdoor theatre performance, Murmurations, to a Perthshire beauty spot next weekend.
“The murmurating starlings you see in the sky are a community, a flock,” explains Luton-based Nathan, 42, who runs outdoor theatre production company Tangled Feet.
“They’re a little system that can react to each other. And that’s a bit like our society, we are all connected to each other and how we behave can always have an effect on someone else.”
Written by eco-focused playwright Steve Waters [The Contingency Plan], Murmurations is a “promenade piece” – in other words, the audience sees the play by walking through the scenes.
And for its Scottish premiere, it will be “staged” outdoors at the Dunkeld House Tree Trail, in association with Perth Theatre and Concert Hall.
Wilderness walk meets silent disco
“We looked at various locations around Perth, and I felt that Dunkeld had a really good combination of a beautiful walk – the water and the woods – and it was accessible to get to by bus,” says Nathan.
“And it’s just at the edge of Birnam Wood, so you have the theatrical ghosts of Macbeth’s witches floating through the area!”
A mix of wilderness walk, silent disco, eavesdropping and immersive theatre, the 60-minute show sees audiences set off on a “guided tour” by a character called Chloe.
“They put on a pair of silent disco headphones, and as they go along this tour, the characters sort of appear from behind trees or bushes along the pathway,” reveals Nathan.
“And they’re all wearing little microphones, so whatever they say, we pick up in our headphones – we’re sort of listening in.
“And then as you go around, the characters start bumping into each other, and you get debates and conversations between them.”
‘It’s about starting small’
With characters including a birdwatching couple trying to rekindle their marriage, a grieving daughter trying to find a place to scatter her mother’s ashes and estate agents scoping out land for housebuilding, Nathan reckons the play takes a light-touch approach to climate change and conservation.
“I think one of the challenges of the climate debate is that it feels very big and sometimes overwhelming,” explains Nathan.
“But what Murmurations does is take people for a walk and get them to look at the little things. And they see how sometimes it’s about starting small, protecting very small things.
“Protecting one small plant can affect butterflies, which can affect birds, on so on.”
Although it’s a touring show, Murmurations is tailored for each location it’s performed in – whether on the beach at Hartlepool or in the London borough of Havering.
“Every time we redo the play, Steve rewrites it to work locally – for the local species, the local animals, the local climate threats and the local politics,” says Nathan.
“So the dualling of the A9 is part of our Dunkeld show, as is the rewilding debate in Scotland, in terms of bringing back wildcats and wolves.
“And then also, some of the local issues around whether there’s enough homes and houses for people to buy, particularly young people. We lean into those local issues.”
How do you lichen that?
One unique aspect of the Dunkeld performance is a rare type of parmeliaceae lichen which thrives on the Hermitage site, and can indicate high air quality and low pollution levels.
“It’s not very sexy but there’s a really unique lichen there,” laughs Nathan.
“Lichen is this thing that grows on trees, and it means the air is good quality. So in a way, we’re celebrating the small things, the things people would often ignore.
“I hope this gives people a chance to look with fresh eyes at the natural world around them.”
Murmurations is at Dunkeld House Tree Trail from October 13-15, with several shows across each day. Transport is available from Perth Theatre. Audiences are advised to dress for adverse weather. For more information or to book tickets, visit the Perth Theatre website.
