Lifelines

Over twenty-five years ago, fresh out of circus school, Matilda made an aerial-theatre solo, on a rope, called Lifeline. It was based on the simple metaphor of the vertical line of the rope as the timeline of a life – she went from birth to death, through every age, in twenty minutes. Now in her fifties, as a mother and older woman, she is returning to this work - to the rope, the air, the themes of age, time and change – but with a new vision. As she navigates her recovery from leukaemia, as she witnesses the challenges in the world, near and far, she wants ‘lifeline’ to refer not only to the length of a life, but to something that can save a life- to explore how telling a life, just might be one way of saving it.

Lifelines is a new, and very old, project with a show at its heart, but it is also a ritual, an invitation, an ongoing practice and growing community. It is an intergenerational project which invites and holds space for girls, women and non-binary people of different ages and backgrounds to share stories from their lives – funny, sad, significant, small, epic, surprising.

It’s a synthesis of everything Matilda has ever done- dance, aerial, improvisation, theatre, puppetry, storytelling, and the holding of space- plus a few things she has never done, or only recently taken up, like pole dancing.

As a largely improvised show we will be making Lifelines in the only way such work can be made – in front of an audience. Watch out for dates coming soon.