Natalie Reckert: Songs for an Unwritten Sky
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Fri 09 Oct 20268:00PMAldridge Studio
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Sat 10 Oct 20262:00PMAldridge Studio
Songs for an Unwritten Sky is a performance exploring the past, present, and imagined futures of Pier 8 at Salford Quays.
Blending music, poetry, and acrobatics, acclaimed theatre maker Natalie Reckert creates a performance inspired by the memories, experiences, and hopes of the people who live and work in Salford. Co-created with musician Xenia Garden, spoken word artist Loll the Poet, with original music by Obeka the piece weaves together stories of community, resilience, and aspiration, imagining more communal, ecological, and collaboratively created futures for our cities.
Credits
Directed by Natalie Reckert, co-created with the cast
Harp and music by Xenia Garden
Poetry and spoken word by Loll the poet
Original music by Obeka
Outside eye Mish Weaver
Produced by Jules Cooke
Songs for an Unwritten Sky is supported by Arts Council England and Bristol New Circus Authors.
Contribute To The Project
You are warmly invited to contribute to the project. Each selected participant will receive £50 for their contribution.
You can do one or more of the following:
- Take a photograph of a place in Salford
- Share a memory connected to that place
- Tell us about a wish you have for its future
You can also submit:
- A voice note
- A piece of music that reminds you of the place
- A drawing, sketch or image
- Any other creative response you would like to share
You don’t need any artistic experience to take part. A single thought, image, memory or feeling is enough.
If you’d like to take part or have any questions, please contact Natalie at nataliereckert@hotmail.de
You can find out more about Natalie’s work at artofhandbalancing.wordpress.com.
Cast
Natalie Reckert
Natalie is a theatre maker and hand balancer combining acrobatics, movement and spoken word to create work about the body, connection and belonging. Since graduating from the National Centre for Circus Arts in 2007, she has created and toured her own work internationally, including Selfie with Eggs and the award-winning outdoor show Superhero Made from Sugar Icing. She co-created and performed The Machine with Collectif and then at the Barbican and has collaborated with digital artist Mark Morreau since 2016, including as a Developed With artist at Lowry. Natalie studied Social Sciences at Humboldt University Berlin, writing her thesis on body experience in acrobatic training, and runs a YouTube channel teaching handstands.
Xenia Garden
Xenia is a Scottish actor and musician based in Leeds. As a harpist and guitar player she writes music, primarily for theatre with a folk influence. She works with actors and circus artists and has written music for Jackson’s Lane, and Discoland Cabaret. She has performed with companies such as Magnetic North, Clown Space and Handmade Theatre, and has recorded for the theatrical score of “Christmas Comes to Moominvalley” and a compilation album produced by Lush Cosmetics called “The Best Day of All Time”.
Loll the poet
Loll the poet is a multi slam winning, alternative poet/spoken word artist hailing from Manchester.
She has represented Manchester in the international competition Slamovision in 2025 in Dublin and represented Manchester in a national competition for I AM LOUD in 2026 in Edinburgh.
You may know her from her previous features on BBC Manchester radios late show, BBC upload, allFM, reform radio and unity radio.
Her previous publications include her full collection FEWMIN and she was featured in a northern anthology titled EY UP.
Obeka
Featured as MixMag’s ‘Artists to Watch in 2025’, Obeka crafts the force of soundsystem and drumming culture. Propelling distorted Dub pressure and splintered low-ends with industrial percussion evolved from his migration from Bermuda to UK . Live African hand drums, ghostly sound design and broken vocals form a stark language of sonic protest.
Mish Weaver
A rare mixture of Circus director and designer with over 30 years’ experience, Mish Weaver creates performances indoors and outdoors, specialising in choreographing objects and bodies.
Blending technical knowledge of circus disciplines, fine art training, and academic study (choreography, scenography and voice for circus), Mish engages thematic research with metaphoric use of set and circus bodies.
Credits
Directed by Natalie Reckert
Co-created with Xenia Garden and Joana Dias
Produced by Jules Cooke
