Interview: Director Kevin Finnan on Motionhouse’s WONDROUS STORIES as part of Birmingham 2022
Photo credit: Motionhouse
With the famously architectural backdrop of Birmingham’s Central Library, Motionhouse perform Wondrous Stories, the opening celebrations of the Birmingham 2022 Festival. Involving circus skills (there’s a crane!), dance and spoken word, they are joined by local groups Critical Mass, Freewheelin’, Timmins Academy and DanceXchange. The message is that we all have a voice and we all have a Wondrous Story to tell….
We spoke to Kevin Finnan, the Creator and Director of the piece:
How did you become involved in this project?
We were approached by the Birmingham 2022 Festival team in 2020 and asked to submit a proposal thanks to our track record of creating large-scale celebratory work of this kind. We've previously created numerous open-air spectacles of this type including several European Capital of Culture celebrations and events around the launch of the London 2012 Olympic Games. We opened the London 2012 Festival in the West Midlands with The Voyage here in Birmingham, and I was fortunate enough to be asked to be the Choreographer and Movement Director of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
What was the inspiration for putting this piece together and how did you want it to reflect the city of Birmingham?
I was asked to make the show in Centenary Square, and when I started thinking about the place and what it meant, I realised that it is a place built around stories. On the square you have the Library of Birmingham, Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the Hall or Memory, all of which keep and tell stories. The West Midlands is also home to many great story tellers - Shakespeare being the most well-known - so I wanted to reflect and celebrate this too. Everyone has a story to tell and each one of us is a story - the region is made up of people with their own stories and journeys, so I wanted to reflect all of this in the show, that used stories as a starting point to create a dynamic and visual spectacle that also spoke of human values and connections.
How important do you think it is for the city and the arts culture to be able to be a part of something as big as this?
It's hugely important for the city and the region to celebrate arts and culture alongside this important sporting event. The Commonwealth Games brings people together from across the world to celebrate human achievement and the joy of taking part in something, and the arts do this too. So, for me there is a huge link between sporting events and cultural events and experiences. As an arts organisation, we are of course delighted to see that culture will be celebrated alongside sport over the next six months during the Birmingham 2022 Festival and we're really looking forward to seeing some of the fantastic work produced by artists in the region.
You can catch performances of Wondrous Stories today and tomorrow (Sunday 20 March) in Birmingham’s Centenary Square at 6.30pm and 8.30pm or you can watch the recorded livestream here.
For more information on Motionhouse Dance Company, check out their website here.