Iron-Oxide was born in 2006 from Chloë Dear’s passion for vertiginous outdoor performance. Since its formation the company has specialized in producing daring outdoor shows and has established itself as one of Scotland’s leading large-scale companies. The company also produces the work of a number of artists including Ramesh Meyyappan, Oceanallover, Adura Onashile and Strange Bird Zirkus. Iron-Oxi
de mixes aerial work, original live music, highly physical choreography and intricate imagery to create spectacular performances that stretch the imaginations of its creators and audiences.The company has a strong commitment to supporting the growing Scottish physical theatre, outdoor performance and circus community. Current Productions
White Gold (tickets on sale from Mon 14 April)
Thu 5 - Sat 7 June 2014
Sugar Sheds, Greenock
At the old gateway to Glasgow, now the gateway to The Games, stories flow from the mouth of the Clyde...
White Gold is an ambitious, site-specific performance set in Greenock’s iconic Sugar Sheds. Brought to the warehouse for storing, sifting, refining and presenting, White Gold is woven together from vivid and touching stories gathered across Inverclyde. As audiences walk through the show, artists, performers and 200 volunteers will bring narratives to life through drama, movement, original music and breathtaking aerial performance. Surprising, poignant and deeply moving, White Gold gives the community of Greenock top billing as the nation’s stars. An original creation conceived and overseen by Mark Murphy, directed by Simone Jenkinson and Joseph Traynor of Cuerda Producciones, and produced by Iron Oxide. www.beaconartscentre.co.uk
Past Productions
HeLa by Adura Onashile
In association with Iron-Oxide
In 1951 a woman called Henrietta Lacks walked into the coloured section of the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for a routine biopsy. A sample of cancer cells that would eventually kill her were taken without her permission and used as the raw material for some of the most important scientific discoveries of the past 100 years. This solo show written and performed by Adura Onashile takes as its inspiration the true life story of Henrietta Lacks and the extraordinary Hela cell line. It is a story that spans race and poverty in 1950’s America to very current ethical debates about medical research, genetics and identity. Through the integration of sound, film, strong physicality and text, the piece will dramatize the scientific processes around cell reproduction, cloning and the search for a cure for cancer. Hela brings together an exciting mixture of emerging talent and experienced artists in a unique collaboration for the Scottish stage. Having presented a work in progress supported by the New Work fund at The Arches In May 2012, Extensive feedback has been taken onboard and key partners developed. Hela is now ideally placed to be developed into a full length touring production. ORNITHOLOGY
by Strangebird Zirkus
In a remote tropical place a travelling salesman stumbles across an abandoned estate with a sole untamed inhabitant. His enthusiasm quickly upsets her delicate balance of memory, ritual and hard liquor. Unknown to them, the encounter is being observed, scrutinised, analysed, until the natural order is truly disrupted...
An encounter of absurd comedy, acrobatic stunts, Chinese pole and ill-fated gardening. The show uses silent disco technology to offer two contrasting soundtracks for the audience. Strangebird Zirkus are one of Scotland's leading contemporary circus companies. Specialising in aerial work, Chinese pole and floor acrobatics Lucy Deacon and Moritz Linkmann, both internationally trained, now work from an Edinburgh base. Their work is a fusion of high level dynamic circus tricks with a theatrical narrative. Ornithology is their second full length touring show and was developed with the support of Creative Scotland. SKEWERED SNAILS
by Ramesh Meyyappan
in association with Iron-Oxide
Born from Meyyappan’s original solo work SKEWERED SNAILS is the story of a dysfunctional family and of a boy who flees to the tree tops to seek solace from the brutality of his father. Boasting half a tonne of rope and four exceptionally dynamic performers, SKEWERED SNAILS introduces award winning Billy Mack as the impossible father, Adura Onashile as the ineffectual mother and Sita Pieraccini as the sibling rival to Ramesh Meyyappan, the boy compelled to live on trees for the rest of his life after promising ‘never to touch the ground again’ following relationship breakdowns with his family. SKEWERED SNAILS is a highly physical performance boating half a kilometre of rope and four exceptional performers. SNAILS & KETCHUP by Ramesh Meyyappan
In association with Iron-Oxide
Inspired by Italo Calvino’s ‘The Baron in the Trees’, SNAILS & KETCHUP is the darkly comic tale of a dysfunctional family and follows a son taking to the trees to live an arboreal existence, escaping his brutal home environment for the solace of the forest. Powerfully told through solo performer RameshMeyyappan’s masterful storytelling, it uses physical performance, an ingenious aerial set and aerial choreography, animation and a complementary live score to poignantly unfold the lives of a young boy and his sibling, from the traumatic birth of the twins to a typical family dinner...
Ramesh’s outstanding command of his own physicality and extensive imagination allow him to embody the four members of this quirky family. He reminds us that despite familial love being unconditional, it is sometimes impossible to co-exist with those we hold dear. Snails & Ketchup was nominated for Total Theatre Awards UK. Ramesh won Life Theatre Award, Singapore (Best Actor) 2011. The show toured successfully with sell-out shows in Paris and Singapore before a run at the Edinburgh Fringe as part of the Made in Scotland showcase. NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND - OPENING CEREMONY
Iron-Oxide was commissioned by the NMS to create and produce an outdoor street party for their re-opening in 2011.
2 gargoyles, high on the museum roof came to life with unearthly physical movements. As they swooped across the façade of the building a Tex-Rex came to life. Making its way up Chambers Street it was joined by a swarm of aquatic sea creatures, the like of which challenged most Darwinian theories... As the unusual ensemble made their way to their new home they were met with a unique fanfare on the Carnyx, a 2,000 year old Scottish war horn composed by John Kenny and performed by his son Patrick. The Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers preceded a crescendo of Chinese Firecrackers will then signal the doors of the Museum were opened...
CARGO
Created and produced by Iron-Oxide
Co-produced with the Edinburgh Mela in 2010
Weaving together physical performance, an impressive life size set, dramatic water-effects and mesmerizing live music, CARGO uses universal imagery to tell the stories of a handful of strange yet familiar characters. Following a young girl’s mystical quest in search of a place to call home, CARGO undulates between eerie fairytale-like scenes and water-soaked, smoke-infused Terry Gilliamesque drama. Beyond the high drama and visually striking performance, CARGO is an invitation to look at why and how people migrate, whether it be for a better life, to escape a past, for a new way of living or to find… themselves. FEET FIRST
In collaboration with Boilerhouse
A New Year’s Day event for 2009 that transformed the Royal Mile into a magical and surreal open air theatre showcasing the work of over 150 Scottish artists and performers ranging from intimate visual installations to large-scale aerial spectaculars and promenade pieces. TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
A crane based aerial performance performed as part of Edinburgh’s 2007 Christmas celebrations.
