Return was a piece for four speaking voices, a string quartet, pipes, drums and dance. It was an exploration into where long poem, ritual theatre and ceremony meet.
It wove together and layered up text, music and performance as a celebration of the wheel of the year, of emerging and receding, and the common ground of death and renewal that unites us regardless and inclusive of all faiths and heritages.
It spoke of cycles and returns, of seasons, elements and the beyond human realms and rhythms; of expansion and contraction at our base and at our back that refuses the violence of fractured whiteness, patriarchy and linear consumer capitalism. It was a meditation on the need to both mark and lose all track of time; how we inhabit the greater whole and have it be frame, container and guidance.
Return was first performed in the round, and by candlelight in Govan & Linthouse parish church, over the full moon (occurring at 9.24pm) on Saturday 28th October 2023.
It was performed in the same place, exactly a year after the first performance Saturday 26th October 2024 at 19.30, in an expanded version including masked dancers.
A digital trace was released to mark another year on Saturday 25th October 2025 and to close the ritual.
Each year above holds a record of documentation; scripts, scores, programme notes and images.