Birds of Paradise Theatre Company

Scotland's touring theatre company promoting disabled artists and supporting the arts sector

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A room with black walls and a black and white checkered floor, there are zebra print blinds over the windows and stretches of brightly coloured tape everywhere. On the left hand side of the wall the phrase 'The fucking end' is spelt out in tape. In the centre there is a blotchy pink sofa. Two young men, both in: sneakers, skinny jeans and t shirts, stand on either arm of the sofa. They are reaching out and grabbing onto each others arms.

Productions ►  

____ is where the heart is

how can I know who I am and how I want to live until I’ve experienced other ways of life? It’s a case of unrequited love


‘_____ is where the heart is’ is a tale of displacement and identity that weaves stories from local audiences into its narrative to create a play that resonates with each community it visits.

I saw it on tv. Amish teenagers, when they turn 18, go on a right of passage to the city. They go for a year and try all the things they don’t have at home – clubs, going to the cinema, shopping centres, trains… And if they like it they stay and if they don’t then they go back to their families and are baptised into the Amish faith.

I feel like that’s what I need. I love it here, its beautiful, but how can I know who I am and how I want to live until I’ve experienced other ways of life? It’s a case of unrequited love.

Created by Heather Marshall
Produced by Birds of Paradise and Creative Electric

In association with Argyll Arts Collective and The Touring Network
Commissioned as part of the BRAW initiative

My city and me.
I want change.
A place with real people.
Who stop and smile and say hello.
Who know me.
Really know me.

Participants will be invited to the ‘_ is where the heart is’ pop up recording studio to record stories and memories of their home- the people who make it special, the local folklore and the moments that have gone down in local history.

These stories will then be incorporated into the performance – each community will have a performance that is entirely unique to them.

A poster for the show. It has a dark blue background with the title of the show displayed in various bright colours. On the right there is a map of Scotland with the following locations flagged: Glasgow, Lochgoilhead, Drumnadrochit, Wick and Brae. On the left side there is a small photo of Heather Marshall, the writer and director. She is wearing a blue jumpsuit and has ginger hair. Next to this is a photo of one of the actors; Nicholas Alban, he is a young man with short brown hair, he is wearing a white shirt with a green jacket. Underneath this is a photo of another actor; Conrad Williamson, he has a high hairline with short brown hair, he is wearing a blue top.

The Team

Nicholas Alban – Performer
Conrad Williamson – Performer
Jamie Rea – BSL Performer
Heather Marshall – Writer / Director
Jonny Reed – Technical Stage Manager
Michelle Rolfe – Producer
Geraldine Heaney – Filmmaker
Yvonne Strain – BSL Consultant
Alyson Woodhouse – Audio Description Consultant

Access Information

All performances include:

  • Partial pre-recorded BSL, performed by Deaf performer Jamie Rae. Presented on TV screens built into the set.
  • Captions, presented on TV screens built into the set.
  • Verbal Description.
  • Touch Tours available.  Please contact the venue directly to arrange.
  • For venue information please contact them directly.

Set Description

Click on the below link for a description of the set for “____ is where the heart is”. The document is accessible to screen-readers. “____ is where the heart is” Set Description

Tour Dates

27th & 28th June 2019
Glasgow
3rd July 2019
Shetland
10th July 2019
Edinburgh
18th July 2019
Drumnadrochit
20th July 2019
Lochgoilhead
23rd July 2019
Wick

Reviews

“As a pointer to a more progressively inclusive world where people are free to explore different identities without prejudice, Marshall’s play opens up a space where the personal meets the political in non-binary times”
The Herald
“For those from small communities, this captures the allure of the city poetically. And for those who are constantly re-inventing our online personas, the appeal of the rural feels sumptuous”
All Edinburgh Theatre

Photos

A scene from the show, a young man is sprawled on the floor and another young man leans over a pink sofa pulling up the other man by his arm. The floor is made up of black and white squares. The walls are black and with bright orange and green tape in some parts. In the top left corner, this tape spells out 'the end'. There are two small screens on either side of the sofa, both show a different close up of a young man with ginger hair.
A young man is in the foreground, he is wearing a white t shirt with sequined sleeves. His face looks vacant but serious. A young man in a brightly coloured patterned shirt in the background appears to be explaining something while he looks down at his hands. He is standing next to a sign on the wall made of tape that reads 'No ball games'
A man with spiked up brown hair and a blue jacket sits on the arm of a pink sofa and reaches up towards the sky with a gleeful expression on his face. Another young man sits on the sofa, he is wearing a jazzy geometric shirt and is looking down at his hands, uninterested.
A close up of a young man in a jazzy, bright geometric shirt. He is sprawled out on a pink sofa, with his mouth open wide as if loudly saying something.
A room with black walls and a black and white checkered floor, there are zebra print blinds over the windows and stretches of brightly coloured tape everywhere. On the left hand side of the wall the phrase 'The fucking end' is spelt out in tape. In the centre there is a blotchy pink sofa. Two young men, both in: sneakers, skinny jeans and t shirts, stand on either arm of the sofa. They are reaching out and grabbing onto each others arms.
Two young men sit on a blotchy pink sofa. They are sitting very closely and are smiling at each other. They are both wearing skinny jeans, sneakers and flamboyant t shirts. On the floor, near their feet, there are various books and pieces of paper that have been covered in pink and orange paint.
A young man with brown hair drinks a beer while standing against a wall. He is wearing a bright shirt with lots of different patterns on it. In front of him 'The fucking end' is written on the wall in tape. Behind him the word 'Peace' is written in tape.
A young man with spiked up brown hair sits on the pink sofa. He appears to be in the middle of speaking. To the left of him, a man in a jazzy geometric top uses tape to write on the black walls. He has written 'No ball games' in green, yellow and orange tape.
Two young men sitting on a black and white checkered floor are leaning into each other as if they are about to kiss. They both have brown hair, though the one on the right has darker hair than the other. The are both wearing skinny jeans. One is wearing a white t shirt with sequined sleeves, while the other is wearing a shirt with bright patterns on it.
A young man in skinny jeans and a white t shirt with sequined sleeves sits on a pink sofa. He has one of his hands at the side of his face as he looks off into the distance uninterested. Behind him, the man in the jazzy geometric shirt is standing, looking down at him. In the background there are 2 screens,one on the left and one on the right. The one on the right is slightly larger. They both have close ups of a young ginger man. On the smaller screen, he is smiling, on the larger screen he looks more serious.

Touring Information

Performance running time: 40-50 mins (dependent on material collected). Up to two performances per day.

Performance Team: two performers, one director and one TSM. All company members hold enhanced PVG certificates.

Performance Space: ‘_____ is where the heart is’ is an installation based performance that can be adapted to suit your venue. The installation will be set up on arrival at the venue and workshops can be offered in the space. Audiences are free to explore the installation prior to and post performance.

‘_____ is where the heart is’ can be thought of as a touring, interactive artwork that hosts two performances a day.

What can I expect if I book this show?

BOP can be resident in your community for between 2-7 days prior to performances. This allows community members to build a relationship with the company, create unique work that will feature in the final performances and have ownership of the production.

We recommend a minimum of two days in each community- one day for the company to gather stories and the second as the performance day. However the more time we have within your community the richer the final performance will be.

Workshops can take the following formats and are adaptable to suit your community:

  • Pop up recording studios: open to everyone. People can drop in over a three hour period and record their memories prompted by stimulus and question cards. Perfect for people who like to work independently or are unsure about committing to a full workshop. Recordings can be any length and participants are welcome to visit multiple times. Drop in: 3 hrs 
  • Reminiscence workshops: particularly suited for lunch clubs, supported accommodation, nursing homes and activity groups for elder members of the community. These workshops are facilitated by an artist and encourage participants to share memories of growing up in the local area with a focus on variety performance & cinema, family life & expectations and dating & the dancing. These workshops have previously been very popular with participants aged 60+ as they are relaxed and conversational. Running time 60-90 mins 
  • Creative writing and storytelling: these workshops start with either food or music as a stimulus and encourage participants to explore memories associated with the stimulus. They are supported by facilitators to create a short story either through creative writing or spoken word that can be performed by participants. This workshop is suitable for all ages and can be facilitated in nurseries, schools, youth & community groups. Running time 60-90 mins 

Images below are from development work on ‘_____ is where the heart is’ , Lochgoilhead – January 2019

A young man and a young woman sit in red plastic chairs beside each other. They are holding hands and holding these hands in the air. The young man is wearing glasses, a sport t shirt and a denim shirt over that. The girl has ginger hair and is wearing a striped yellow top with a black pinafore over it.
A woman in her early 30s sitting in a red plastic chair. She has wavy light pink hair and is wearing a pink leopard print top. She is looking down at a script in her hands
A man in his twenties sits in a red plastic chair, reading from a script . He is wearing a blue denim shirt and black thick framed glasses.
A young woman sitting in a red plastic chair reads for a script while moving one of her hands around. She appears to be in her late teens, she has ginger hair andis wearing a striped yellow top.
In a large room with blank yellow walls and floorboards; two young women and one young man sit in red plastic chairs reading from scripts.
A shot from behind a large group of 13 people. They appear to be a range of ages; from childhood to old age. They are gathered in red plastic chairs in a semi circle all pointed towards three young people at the front who appear to be talking.
Two middle-aged women and a young boy sit with puppies on their laps. The woman on the right appears to be reading from her phone while the labrador puppy in her arms sleeps.
A shot of four older women sitting on chairs. They are all in big winter jackets. Two of them are smiling at puppies on their laps. One of them, wearing a woolen hat, smiles at the camera.
A collection of white cups and saucers on a bright patterned tablecloth.
Blog 6 Nov 2017

BRAW

After doing a public call out for artists who identify as disabled, Heather Marshall from Creative Electric was selected to work with Birds of Paradise and Argyll Arts Collective on BRAW – an initiative from The Touring Network