David Leddy/Fire Exit

David Leddy/Fire Exit
Susurrus

One of the major highlights of the last Edinburgh Festival was Susurrus by Glasgow playwright David Leddy, "one of Scotland's leading theatre-makers" and a "site-specific genius," according to The Scotsman. This unique audio play is presented in botanical gardens, and the title (pronounced sus-yoo-rus) refers to the rustling sound of wind in trees. Audiences experience Leddy's subtly woven narrative intimately, by listening to it on iPods. Here, you'll hear the play unfold while following a mapped route specifically designed by the playwright through the lush greenhouses of Franklin Park Conservatory and the grounds of Franklin Park.

Without actors and without a stage, Susurrus is part radio play, part recital, part lesson in bird dissection, and part stroll in the park. The listener hears snippets about opera, memorial benches, and botany, which fit together into a mournful and poignant story of love and loss. As the Guardian says, it's "a sensual reinterpretation of A Midsummer Nights' Dream with a contemporary edge. There are moments when location and content come together so powerfully that your eyes moisten and your heart lurches."

http://www.wexarts.org/pa/index.php?eventid=4887