The King of All Birds

‘I’m going to do a few songs today. In about 30 minutes, we’re going to crown a new king. And then, I’m going to fly.’

We’re obsessed with seeing ourselves from above. We display aerial photos of our homes, we gather in our masses to watch men fly, and, every couple of hundred years, we crown a king.

This is a fresh and playful trad gig for voice and vocoder: a collage of film, text and music that began with hours of staring at an aerial photograph of a house in Dromady, County Mayo, and has a whole lot to show for it. It matches the voice with electronics, and finds a new sound in an old tradition.

As well as singing a song, it also tells a story. It picks apart our shared history with the sky: the thousands of years when it remained untouched, then those first ventures into it, in kites, balloons, in planes, and by strapping cameras to carrier pigeons. And now, our endless climbing through it: up, and up, and up.

Developed at FRINGE LAB. Funded by the Arts Council / An Comhairle Ealaíon. Supported by the PAN PAN Platform at Dublin Fringe Festival and by PAN PAN's International Mentorship Programme 2021.

Please note:
Contains loud noise.

Image:
Owen Clarke

The King of all Birds by Martha Knight (winner of the George Fitzmaurice Award 2023)

★★★★ “This show feels like a history of Ireland but also a heartfelt ode to a fading country.”

- The Irish Times

★★★★ “Experimental soundscapes, folk music & electrifying voice distortion fuse in a vivid portrayal of our imagination & innovation.”

- Fringe Biscuit

“Knight’s piercing, calming presence, whose deadpan, matter-of-fact directness is a little bit irresistible.”

- The Arts Review

PREVIEW

11 September

18:30, €11