Icarus, Falling of Birds is an experience of poetry on an epic scale. In September of 2013, thousands of migratory songbirds perished after being lured like moths to a flame to a hundred-foot-high flare at the Canaport Liquefied Natural Gas plant in Saint John, New Brunswick.
This unique outdoor performance, adapted from the book of poetry and photography of the same name by Harry Thurston and Thaddeus Holownia, features a reading by the poet, large-scale puppetry by North Barn Theatre, a string trio composed by Blue Lobelia and a youth ensemble of performers. As an audience member, you’ll walk from scene to scene, taking in each striking element of this performance situated in the landscape where these same birds may have made their homes.
Icarus, Falling of Birds was performed in August 2025 at York Redoubt (Halifax) and at Ross Creek Centre for the Arts (Canning). This project was support by the Canada Council for the Arts and Arts Nova Scotia.
Creative Team
DIRECTORS – Franziska Glen and Lily Falk
DESIGNERS- Laura Stinson and Ian McFarlane
POET- Harry Thurston
PHOTOGRAPHER – Thaddeus Holownia
COMPOSER – Rachel Bruch
PRODUCTION MANAGER – Colleen Arcturus MacIsaac
MUSICIANS – Anna Shabalina, Japhy Sullivan and Indi Tisoy Morales
PUPPETEERS – Ailsa Galbreath, Coral Maloney, Dorian Arcturus Lang, Diego Cavedon Dias, Laura Stinson and Ian McFarlane
YOUTH ENSEMBLE – Tjása Allen, Jacob Ives, Winnie Sherwood, Avery Burns, Charlie Mascola, Hope Stevens and Harjas Dhaliwal
PHOTOGRAPHER at York Redoubt – Rachel Ludwin
PHOTOGRAPHER at Ross Creek – Memo Calderón
VIDEOGRAPHER – Callum Gaudet
POSTER – Laura K. Watson
Gale Force Theatre 