Forging the King was created to open the week-long Athelstan1100 Festival in Tamworth on Saturday 20th July 2024.
Our professional dance-circus artists were joined by a cast of young people from the community to tell the story of Æthelstan’s arrival in Tamworth and how his upbringing by Mercian warrior Queen Æthelflæda helped shape him into becoming a great King.
At the end of the performance, a huge Mercian flag made from 40m of fabric that was otherwise heading for landfill was unfurled from the castle wall. The flag was made by local community groups, coordinated by local artist Debbie Murphy from Missfit Creations.
More than 3,700 people were wowed by this free open-air dance-circus show, which was performed against the powerful backdrop of Tamworth Castle.
Our Artistic Director, Kevin Finnan, said: “It was a pleasure and a privilege to create and perform Forging the King in Tamworth and to help tell the story of Æthelstan in this important anniversary year. Huge thanks to Tamworth Castle for making this happen, and to Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership and Tamworth Borough Council for supporting the project.”
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Supported by Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership and Tamworth Borough Council.
