What if the solution to grief is not on the internet, in a book or in the eyes of compassionate people. What if the solution to someone’s grief requires a big padded costume and a long hard beak. When I was 54 my only sister rolled off her sofa and died.  I went looking for pain relief across the internet, I listened to podcasts and read self-help books. I followed a range of suggestions with limited success, I discovered water is cold outdoors in winter, the hills can be indifferent and writing about death without sounding like a cliché is tricky.  I was looking for a way out of the isolation my grief had caused. In the same year I was offered a job by a street theatre company called Surreal McCoy.  I was not a street performer but I was skint. In the job I would get paid to dress up as a giant seagull and entertain the crowds. 

My Life as a seagull is a show that explores the unexpected moment when grief takes a back seat.  It asks questions around play, human companionship, and ageing.  I mean, how old are you when you’re fully encased in a costume of a giant bird ? It is not advice or a guide on how to recover from loss, but it is a compassionate observation of someone trying to do just that.