Owls Do Cry

Owls Do Cry
Directed by Malia Johnston

Considered the first great New Zealand novel, Janet Frame’s Owls Do Cry follows the story of the Withers siblings and their lives in small town New Zealand following a family tragedy.

Filled with fierce heart and visual splendour, Red Leap Theatre’s energetic response to Owls Do Cry is a surprising and moving experience delving in to the poetic world of Janet Frame.

Rather than creating a direct narrative staging of Owls Do Cry, Red Leap have taken inspiration from Frame’s rich imagery and poetry to create a multi-disciplinary dreamscape. This extraordinary tale is transformed into an exciting devised performance through Red Leap’s signature physical and visual styles, capturing and revealing Frame’s pertinent insights into society.

The result is an extraordinarily brave, jaw-dropping performance that is simply faultless.

‘There is not one wasted moment in the piece. It’s the best show I’ve seen this year.’ — Veronica McLaughlin, The 13th Floor

‘I’m left with sheer joy of witnessing images of beauty, light and poetry.’ — Rachael Longshaw-Park, The Pantograph Punch