Flocking together: Bob Chilcott's Birdland

Forget Happy Feet, there is a new musical bird on the scene. Swap out penguins for swallows (and remove the tap dancing completely), and you are close to this new feathery creation from much-loved British composer Bob Chilcott and skilled writer Charles Bennett. The colourful new production, Birdland, tells the tale of a bird who can't sing, delving into themes of identity and the importance of self-confidence.

The new musical drama was commissioned by Magdalen College School (MCS) for the Oxford Festival of Music in collaboration with the Norfolk Music Hub and Young Artists Norfolk. The premiere initially had a much larger scope and was set to be performed by MCS students in the lead roles and including students from across Oxfordshire, with 250 performers singing in each performance. Then, Covid halted all these plans. Finally, at the end of June 2022, the project was revisited on a slightly smaller scale, premiering at the Oxford Playhouse with a bang, highlighting what can be done with effective partnership work and access to high-quality resources. At the Music Teachers’ Association Conference in Oxford, the school also presented a snippet of Birdland; by all accounts the performance was flawless.