foxfire
The wolf woman who has lost her skin
still has a wolf's heart
Foxfire is the bewitching concert incarnation of the book Foxfire, Wolfskin & Other Tales of Shapeshifting Women by acclaimed author Sharon Blackie.
‘A shapeshifting symphony, filled with love, longing, rage and desire.’
JACKIE MORRIS, CO-AUTHOR OF THE LOST WORDS AND THE LOST SPELLS
Composed by Wise Woman, produced by Wise Woman and Sounds Just Fine (The Spell Songs) and performed by the band plus a collection of brilliant guest musicians, the concert combines original songs, spoken word and soundscapes to conjure the book’s mythical retellings of female transformation, regeneration and wildness from across Europe. Enchanting newly commissioned artwork from illustrator Helen Nicholson will feature throughout the show, drawing audiences into this magical world.
Length: c 75 minutes
Look & Feel: Lady Maisery’s Wakefire x The Spell Songs x Maimuna Memon’s Manic Street Creature
7 players including Wise Woman
The Wolf Woman, from FOXFIRE
THe story
The Cailleach, ancient Celtic goddess, sets off on her sacred journey to rejuvenate the Earth, something she has done every hundred years from the beginning of time. But this time she wonders - should she? Every century that passes, mankind gets more hardened, more uncaring. Is she too old for this, too wise for this now? But then, she thinks of the fox spirit who carries her hope-giving secret, the haunted Irish princess who roams the mountainside and the wolf woman seeking her stolen skin… and who would know their stories if The Cailleach gives up now?
At a time where women’s voices continue to be silenced and climate catastrophe looms, we also see renewed interest in old ways and folk ways. Foxfire invites listeners on that magical, snow-covered quest to re-discover the wildness - and wilderness - inside all of us.
The show also offers an accompanying Q&A discussion with Sharon Blackie and Wise Woman about the creation of the show and shapeshifting women across European folklore.
about Sharon
Dr Sharon Blackie is an award-winning author and folklorist. As well as writing seven books of fiction and nonfiction, including the bestselling classic If Women Rose Rooted, her writing has appeared in anthologies, collections and international media outlets – among them the Guardian, the Irish Times, the i and the Scotsman. Her accolades include the Society of Authors’ Roger Deakin Award, a Creative Scotland Writer’s Award and Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts.
‘She knows her archetypes, knows her Jung, knows her fairytales and knows her neuroscience, and is sick of being patronised by men who don’t’
THE SUNDAY TIMES
“I want to press this powerful book into the hands of everyone I know and say, listen.”
HOLLY RINGLAND, AUTHOR OF THE LOST FLOWERS OF ALICE HART
The Way it goes, from FOXFIRE
about Wise Woman
Wise Woman are a genre-defying vocal ensemble creating bold, original sounds that sit at the intersection of folk, music theatre and jazz. They make work about women whose voices have been forgotten, silenced or reshaped by history, and bring those stories back to life through lush harmonies, tall tales and subversive sparkle.
“You guys absolutely rock”
BBC RADIO 3
“Startling and shimmering”
FOLK WALES
Formed out of a group of theatre makers and performers, Wise Woman have made work with organisations as broad as the Barbican, Royal Ballet & Opera and Frantic Assembly. As a band, the last 3 years have seen them release two EPs, as well as playing festivals from Celtic Connections to Aldeburgh, supporting BBC Folk award winners the Young’uns, guesting on Radio 3's In Tune and touring the UK.