In theory, MUSE OF FIRE might be called my brainchild. But in practice, it represents a living, breathing collaboration with some of Birmingham’s best artistic spirits. From Sloss’ iron-pouring metal artists, to local DJs, to MadMax motorcycle geniuses, to the 20+ actor casts who populate our theatrical otherworld, every MUSE OF FIRE production explores what happens when the unexpected intersect.

MUSE is timeless work, staged with contemporary relevance. It evokes yesterday, today, and tomorrow, but also a day that never could have been. With necessity as the best mother of invention, MUSE strives to create enormity from thin air – we “into a thousand parts divide one man, and make imaginary puissance”. MUSE adds little to the space of Sloss, but what it leaves behind we hope is indelible.

Beyond cutting several scenes for time constraints, Shakespeare’s language remains wholly unaltered – these famous lines juxtaposed with the modern and unorthodox setting of Sloss are at the heart of MUSE OF FIRE’s artistic purpose. While MUSE has as its mission the exploration of Shakespeare’s relevance today, we also honor the entertainment value the work had in its own time. It’s fun. It’s bawdy, adrenaline- fueled, slap-stick broad and wrenching in its nuance. What it shouldn’t be is homework.

MUSE is also characterized by the use of what’s on hand. Theatre is alive, immediate, unpredictable magic, and  we are perpetually interested in finding the natural harmony between the text, the space, and happy accident. When we work at Sloss, trains become part of the production. When we staged a preview in the down-town library, the book return was a comic focal point. Rather than overcome what might be considered the limitations of unorthodox space with traditional, added elements of stagecraft, we use these limitations as leaping-off points for creative solutions.

One of MUSE’s earliest supporters observed that countless answers to contemporary conflicts can be found in Shakespeare’s work, and that when the work is taken out of a familiar staging and relocated to a space like Sloss Furnaces, the volume on those answers is turned up.

With that charge set before us, we like to think that MUSE OF FIRE has been, and will continue to be, in the business of turning up the volume.

Founder and Artistic Director

Production Stage Manager