Penny Chivas' BURNT OUT Will Tour Across Scotland

Having already wowed audiences in both the UK and Australia, this urgent and timely dance-theatre work, BURNT OUT encapsulates one Australian's experience of the devastating bushfires and the personal experience of the daughter of an environmental geochemist.  

Weaving spoken word, movement and a lump of coal, BURNT OUT takes us on a journey and asks the question ‘why do we feel we are unable to acknowledge the changes around us even when surrounded by thick smoke?’ 

Glasgow-based performer Penny Chivas draws on her own experience of the fires. Growing up in Australia, she experienced the Canberra fires of 2003, the blacked skies over Melbourne during Black Saturday 2009, and during a visit in 2019, Black Summer. Her experiences are contrasted with Australia's reliance on coal – even using coal- powered electricity to “clean the air” during the fires. 

Paul Michael Henry's soundscape captures the sounds from the fires; from choppers circling overhead, to the sirens used and perhaps most hauntingly, the calls of magpies mimicking the wail of fire engines. 

David Bowes' lighting design proves a simple and yet incredibly detailed framework for reading the movement of Chivas as she arches and curls illuminating the immediacy to the situation. His lighting design will only be seen in the following venues - Macrobert Arts centre, The Byre and Platform. 

BURNT OUT is touring until Saturday 28 October. Each performance will be followed by a post-show discussion with a local environmental activist. 

In line with Chivas’ commitment to being ethically sustainable, the tour is aspiring to be done by public transport - train/bus and ferry travel and any car transportation, mileage will be tracked and recorded. 

The performance is suitable for audiences aged 12+.