Kate Bowie

(2014-2016)

Kate Bowie. Photo by Tim Matheson.

In 1981, Kate Bush and David Bowie rented a secluded mansion in a remote part of England to make an album together. Over the course of one month, these iconic figures lived and worked, away from the limelight and pressures of their lives. Neither of them has ever spoken publicly about what happened during this time. No recordings from these sessions have ever been heard. Thirty years later, a Canadian couple — two superfans of Bush and Bowie — rent a cabin in the woods to recreate that mythic collaboration in a desperate attempt to salvage their 10-year relationship. Kate Bowie is a bizarre examination of the nature of co-existence and what it takes, in the end, to become someone else.

Kate Bowie is performed by James Long and Maiko Yamamoto, written by Greg MacArthur and directed by Blake Brooker, with lighting design by Jonathan Ryder, sound composition and design by Emma Hendrix, costume design by Leah Weinstein and stage management by Ruthie S Tabata. Originally co-produced by Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in association with One Yellow Rabbit, Kate Bowie was presented at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby and the High Performance Rodeo in Calgary.