The Great Speckled Bird

How do you write a new myth for the digital age? The Great Speckled Bird is an intermedia work that sets out to do just that — reflecting on the nature of identity in our increasingly accelerated and hyperactive world.

Normally, Johnny Cash, mathematical theory and motorised ferret balls don’t have much in common, but The Great Speckled Bird manages to fuse all three without resulting in something completely insane. Creating a modern myth for the origin of the universe is a daunting task – but this performance, by combining elements of light, live music and traditional storytelling, presents an interesting take on it.

This element of storytelling is something that creator Ryan McGoldrick does well, especially in the prologue and epilogue. However, the links between different acts are lost at times. It sounds confusing, and at times it is, with elements of Greek mythology (including a smoking leather-clad Prometheus) contrasting with artefacts from the digital age. But the ingenious use of motors, projections, microphones and sound is a highlight.

The Great Speckled Bird aims to do a lot, and while the ideas behind the performance are intriguing and provocative, the execution is at times disjointed and bewildering. This performance gives the phrase ‘Which came first — the chicken or the egg?’ a whole new meaning.