Leamington-based Motionhouse is renowned for producing quality dance productions that blend powerful narratives, athletic physicality and digital imagery to great effect. The company’s latest offering is Starchitects, a show which follows a group of children as they travel to other worlds. What’s On recently caught up with Motionhouse founder & Artistic Director Kevin Finnan to find out more...

Internationally renowned dance-circus company Motionhouse has gone stellar with its latest show, Starchitects, which takes performers and audiences to another dimension. The production combines dance, aerial acrobatics and digital projections to tell the story of a group of children who embark on an adventure in outer space.

Created in partnership with Pembrokeshire-based Bluestone Park & National Resort, Starchitects was in residence at the park in early 2020. It proved so popular that the company has now decided to take it on an international tour.
“Bluestone had seen our work and wanted us to make a show for them, which I thought would be really interesting,” says Motionhouse’s co-founder and artistic director, Kevin Finnan. “I was a bit unsure at first, as we’ve never made a family show. The secret to a show for families and audiences new to dance is that it has to appeal equally to adults and children. So we set out to make the show as visually arresting and physically thrilling as the rest of our work, and also to include an element that was really targeted at families. I’m delighted by it, and having now done it, I’m committed to doing more family shows - they’re great fun.”

Bluestone had asked that the show feature outer space, but Kevin needed to give it an additional element that families would relate to.
“Whenever I make a show, I ask myself: What is the fundamental thing that I’m saying in this? My connection with making a show for families was the fact that what I do in the studio is play all the time. I play with ideas and I play with set and I play with the dancers.
“Through this play, we try to work out what our piece is going to be. And just like with our company, an essential thing for children is play. It’s a fundamental part of who we are and how we become creative. 
“Once we started making it with that idea in mind, we all had tremendous fun creating the show. It’s a really popular show among the dancers as well as our audiences.”

Starchitects features a group of children whose games see them travelling to other worlds.
“The group of children are playing and observing the moon from their bedroom, and the moon disappears. So they go in search of the moon. They build themselves a rocket and go off and explore space. Exploring is a great thing for young people. They land on a planet and it’s fully mysterious, and they meet strange creatures and have lots of adventures, and then they make their way back home to celebrate the experience.”

The show features well-known games such as hide & seek, Grandma’s footsteps and the floor is lava - activities which are not only popular with children but also evoke nostalgic memories for adults.
“The key to creating a show like this is that it’s readable for a wide range of people. The adults who come along enjoy it just as much as the children - and in some cases, I suspect, even more! 
“I had no idea how it was going to be received, but I knew I had done a really good job making it and we were pleased with it. Once we got it going and saw the interaction with the audience, it was very uplifting because the relationship with the audience has just been a real joy.”

Birmingham Hippodrome is hosting a range of activities connected to Starchitects when the show visits the venue early this month. These include a relaxed matinee on 3 February, a curtain raiser by Birmingham Hippodrome Education Network, a post-show discussion on the evening of the 3rd, and a curtain raiser by Motionhouse Youth on the 4th. There is also the opportunity for families to take part in activities after the Saturday afternoon show.

Although the production was devised for families, Kevin says it will appeal to people of all ages.“It doesn’t matter how old you are. If the show contains visual spectacle, amazing things that the dancers are doing, high-skilled dance and aerial work and interaction with film, then all of those elements mean that it works for everyone. The magic and mystery of that kind of show appeals on a visceral level, from the very youngest children to the 80-year-olds.So at Birmingham Hippodrome we’ve got a couple of matinees and an evening performance where we’re hoping older children and adults will come, because if you like our work then you’ll enjoy this show.”

Motionhouse is a Birmingham Hippodrome Associate Company. In 2012, it collaborated with the venue and Australian theatre ensemble Legs On The Wall to produce The Voyage, which launched the London 2012 Festival in the Midlands, celebrating the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Last spring Motionhouse launched the Birmingham 2022 Festival, which accompanied the Commonwealth Games, with a work titled Wondrous Stories, presented in the city’s Centenary Square. 

“We had a really great reception for Wondrous Stories. It was the 10-year anniversary since we’d done The Voyage and to come back and do Wondrous Stories in 2022 was a real gift. We were really excited about doing it, and we were very pleased with the results.”

Kevin is now hoping audiences in the city and beyond will become fans of Starchitects.
“This is a show which the whole family can enjoy. The show reaches out to the audience and plays with the audience and engages with the audience. For me, there has always got to be something at the core of a show which is meaningful, and I think that it is really good for us all to remind ourselves that being playful is an important part of our lives. It nourishes and fulfils us, and we should celebrate it.”

by Diane Parkes