“Replay the tape a million times… and I doubt that anything like Homo sapiens would ever evolve again.” — Stephen J Gould
What strange kinds of animals might have existed if the dice-throw of evolution had fallen differently?
‘Replaying the Tape’ is a collaboration between New York-based composer Dr Jane Boxall, palaeontologist Dr Frankie Dunn, and poet Penny Boxall. Inspired by cutting-edge research into the early origins of life, this female-led performance will feature taped recordings from Dr Dunn's paleontological digs, live percussion, poetry, and choreographic and visual elements. Words and sound will conjure an imaginary menagerie of animals – contemplating the alternative paths that evolution could have taken, and the role that chance plays in our own existence.
The performance will be followed by a chance to investigate the fossils that inspired the show while enjoying a drink at our bar.
Book tickets (£5)
Dr Jane Boxall is an adventurous composer-percussionist, working across diverse musical genres. As a soloist, collaborator and session player, Jane has performed in concert halls, art galleries, cafes, castles, kindergartens, hospitals, universities, forests and festivals from Cyprus to San Francisco, India to Quebec, and Manhattan to France. She is dedicated to new music, specializing in contemporary art music on marimba and vibes, and rock and hiphop drumkit for original artists. Born in England and raised in Scotland, Jane completed her BA and MA in Contemporary Music at the University of York (UK), and her Doctorate in Percussion Performance & Literature (minor in Composition & Theory) at the University of Illinois.
Dr Frankie Dunn is a palaeobiologist based at the University of Oxford. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Warwick in 2015 and her PhD in 2019 from the University of Bristol. She subsequently moved to Oxford to take up two fellowships: a Junior Research Fellowship at Merton College and an Early Career Fellowship from the Royal Commission for the exhibition of 1851. She is now a NERC Independent Research Fellow and a Senior Researcher at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Frankie’s research focuses on the rise of animals: a profound transition in the History of Life - for the first-time organisms were able to engineer the environment around them, altering geochemical cycles, building complex ecosystems and diversifying into myriad forms. The ultimate aim of this research is to understand how animal bodyplans evolved in deep time.
Penny Boxall is a poet whose published collections are: Ship of the Line (Eyewear, 2014); Who Goes There? (Valley Press, 2018); and In Praise of Hands (with Naoko Matsubara’s woodcuts, Ashmolean Museum, 2020). She has won the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award (Scotland’s largest poetry prize) and the Mslexia/PBS International Women’s Poetry Prize. She is the Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge, and has held fellowships/residencies with UNESCO Cities of Literature, Tartu, Estonia (2022); Merton College, University of Oxford (2019); Château de Lavigny, Switzerland (2018); Hawthornden Castle, Scotland (2017, 2023); and Gladstone’s Library, Wales (2017). Her poetry has appeared in places including The Sunday Times, POETRY (Chicago) and The Rialto. In 2021 she received funding from Arts Council England to develop her first novel for children. In 2023 Merton College Choir will premiere a work by Gabriel Jackson, setting new poems by Penny.
Accessibility Information:
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Wheelchair accessible?
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Yes
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Hearing loops?
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No
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Seating?
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Yes
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Refreshments?
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Yes
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Flashing lights?
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No
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Loud noises?
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Yes
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For more information, please visit our accessibility webpage, or contact Chris.
