Come aboard the good ship Orbita and join our salty seafarers, Dogger, Fisher and Faroe - three sailors trapped on a boat, aimlessly drifting, looking for land. Using a variety of performance modes, including animation, puppetry and sea shanties, Orbita take us on a voyage of discovery to uncharted seas full of adventure, romance and spindly killer fish.
We recently performed this work for the first time at Mayfest in Bristol, as part of a double bill with our friends and lovers Tinned Fingers. Thank you to everbody who came to see us and for all the feedback we've received. We had an amazing time. You can read Suit Yourself magazine's review of the show here.
Now it's back to the lair, for an intense period of tinkering, tweaking, and other such shenanigans. In the meantime, why not join our facebook group, and get the first scoop on future performance dates!x
Humankind has always looked to the stars to see the future. but even light from the closest stars has taken millions of years to reach us. A look into the night sky is a look back in time. Funny things, these beginnings and endings. You cannot start to imagine the future without an understanding of the past, and without those two, the present may as well not exist. But forgive me, I am getting ahead of myself; I have not yet been born…
The stars below us is tragi-comic exploration of humankind's relationship with the cosmos. it is a story of time itself and the interconnected nature of our Pasts, Presents and Futures. Fusing science fiction and science fact, performance lecture, stop-motion animation and live music, Orbita asks what our past can teach us about our future. If indeed we have one. Were things always this bad? Does humankind have the stars in its future?
The Stars Below Us has been presented at the Bristol Old Vic, the Barbican Theatre in Plymouth, Camden People’s Theatre, You and Your Work festival in Bristol and at the Forest Fringe in Edinburgh.
We are here. we have arrived. the eagle has landed. don’t look surprised. this is the place. make no mistake. Here. Here. This is the end of our story. We’d love to hear yours. Just so long as it tells us where we are. And that where we are is where we want to be. In the here and now.
An on-going project, documenting the travels we all make during our lives. the pilgrimage is a Grand Act – the physical manifestation of a metaphysical journey. It reflects the themes of life, death, spirituality and salvation. You know, the big ones. However, to paraphrase Alan Bennett, we are interested in the small pilgrimage; the little journeys and the small themes.
While Pilgrim's Progress continues to be a source of inspiration for other projects, it is hoped that it may, one day, see a more public light as some form of publication.
Delta Foxtrot is about a quest for perfection in an imperfect world. we see the performers undergo a series of bizarre rituals and experiments and question their motives and conclusions. We begin to see an image of ourselves emerging, fractured and distorted, like a reflection in a broken mirror; a case of the wrongs tools for the right job.
Using a 'retro-futurist' aesthetic, Delta Foxtrot creates an atmosphere that is at once alien and familiar; contemporary, yet strangely timeless. It is a fond memory of the ways things were and an uncompromising look forward to the way they might be.
Delta Foxtrot has been presented at Battersea Arts Centre, Dartington College of Arts, and the Wickham Theatre in Bristol.
With thanks to our secret member, Hiske Buddingh, who was the scenographer for this show. Withour her, Delta Foxtrot would not have been possible. Further thanks must also go to Kate Mount for the use of her beautiful photos.
“An outstanding production about the creation of new life in a troubled world… this is work with a heart and an agile and generous mind. Highly recommended.” David Williams, Dramaturg, Lone Twin
