Birdwatching
School friends Amelia, Poppy and Lauren are wild camping in the Northumberland forest. As the woods darken around them and tensions flare, a watchful presence takes hold over the camp. A perfect boiling pot of paranoia, superstition and adolescent insecurity ensues that hangs on a chilling question: who is watching who?
With female, queer and neurodivergent perspectives centre stage, Birdwatching is a new folk horror about the female experience that doesn’t look away. Black Bright Theatre Company returns to the Edinburgh Fringe following the success of their five-star, award nominated debut, The Hunger.
Photography by Ai Narapol (@ainarapol).
Writer Madeleine Farnhill
Director Chantell Walker
Assistant Director, Lighting and Sound Designer Yanni Ng
Producer Helen Denning
Cast Madeleine Farnhill, Mimi Millmore, Ellen Trevaskiss
This show has previously been supported by the Bank at Sheffield Theatres.
Reviews for Birdwatching
“Birdwatching is remarkable for how it uses relatively little in the way of props or set to craft such a potent atmosphere of dread. Visceral sound effects bring the eerie forest environment to life.”
— James Hanton for The Indiependent (5-stars)
“In this production, the woods is a character in its own right: at times, it's the thing we're most fearful of. It is brought to life through simple yet effective staging and an eerie soundscape.”
— Abbie Grundy for Broadway World (5-stars)
“Similarly, the echoing of sounds throughout the auditorium gives goosebumps and the whistling through the trees is genuinely terrifying, and I could feel my own anxieties from this point until long after I had left the theatre.”
— Sophie Layton for Forge Press (4-stars)
“The tension in the auditorium builds up as the woodland noises and sounds envelop the audience leaving you looking around to check if you are being watched or not!”
— Elaine Chapman for Theatre and Art Reviews (5-stars)
“Every technical element ran smoothly, and lent itself well to the perfectly crafted atmosphere.”
— Jessie Martin for North West End UK (5-stars)
“A cacophony of sound bursts into life at points. Woodland creatures, squawking birds, trees shaking, distance folk tunes assaulting our senses building to the climax, we’re convinced this is it, this is where it must end but it drops back into silence and we’re left waiting further.”
— Phoebe Bakker for Binge Fringe (4-stars)