Grief is the Thing with Feathers
Based on the novel by Max Porter
With Toby Schmitz
Belvoir St Theatre, 26 Jul - 24 Aug
Six years ago, during a particularly difficult time, a friend handed me a book that took my breath away—and quietly helped mend some broken pieces. Now, thanks to Belvoir St Theatre and Max Porter’s trust, I have the privilege of bringing Grief is the Thing with Feathers to the stage. I’m reuniting with Nick Schlieper for the second time, collaborating with the visionary Simon Phillips for the first, and working with Toby Schmitz for the eighth. Don’t be afraid of the word “grief”—this piece is as joyous, absurd, and funny as it is heartbreaking.
- Andrew
“…and the boys shouted I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU and their voice was the life and song of their mother. Unfinished. Beautiful. Everything.”
Two young boys fall back on their imaginations as they grapple with their mother’s sudden death. Their father has the soul of a poet but can only see a future of platitudes and loneliness. In the sadness, like a gothic Mary Poppins, comes Crow – trickster, babysitter, provocateur and healer. Did this odd bird come to a grieving family because they needed him? Or is he something they made?
Max Porter’s exquisite verse novel has been a literary sensation, garnering an ardent tribe of devotees. Now, in the expert hands of Simon Phillips, comes a fresh stage version full of theatricality and insight.
Original Author MAX PORTER
Co-Adaptor/Director/Co-Set Designer SIMON PHILLIPS
Co-Adaptor/Lighting Designer/Co-Set Designer NICK SCHLIEPPER
Co-Adaptor/Performer TOBY SCHMITZ
Full Creative Team
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Belvoir St Theatre and Andrew Henry Presents
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Max Porter Original Author
Simon Phillips Co-Adaptor/Director/Co-Set Designer
Nick Schlieper Co-Adaptor/Lighting Designer/Co-Set Designer
Toby Schmitz Co-Adaptor
Ella Butler Costume Designer
Freya Schack-Arnott Composer & Musician
Jessica Dunn Sound Designer
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Toby Schmitz
Philip Lynch
Fraser Morrison