South Devon

The Lifecycle of the Devon Red-legged Robberfly

5th July – Paignton

8th July – East Prawle

30th July -The Box, Plymouth  

South Devon National Landscape team are delivering a large Heritage Funded project – Life on the Edge. This project aims to engage communities, famers and landowners to restore species rich grassland on the South Devon coast to secure a future for 30 rare and endangered invertebrates, and to strengthen the connection with nature for people who live, work and play in South Devon.  

As part of the Nature Calling project this project, we are working with our cultural partners Doorstep Arts, and  have secured additional funding to match in to commission a £7000 project to engage new audiences aged 16-30 years old with some of our rare invertebrates.  NDP Circus were selected and awarded the funding for workshops and performances based on one of our target species - the Devon Red-legged Robberfly.  

The 45 minute  performance will tour 3 very different locations in South Devon - an urban skate park in Torbay, a rural coastal location at the southernmost tip of the county and a public open space in the city of Plymouth.  

The performance will feature four artists including an aerialist working on a Chinese pole and sound artist Somatic (Somin Griffin-Dave). Somatic will create a soundtrack for the performance and associated flash mobs, with found sound from the invertebrates and coast.

The piece will be performed on and around a Mutated Apache Piper Aircraft Fuselage transformed into a giant fly! NDP Circus will present a spectacular 45 minute performance including dance, theatre and aerial circus to tell a story about an insects journey from pupae to metamorphoses and its search for love!