Legs On The Wall
THAW
2.7 tonnes of ice, suspended from a crane, melting over ten hours while three artists perform on top.
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THAW involves an extensive pre-production process: rigging mechanisms frozen into a 2.7-tonne ice form, hung from a crane in a public space, with three artists performing atop it as it gradually melts. Created by Joshua Thomson with an original score by Alaska's Matthew Burtner, it's an inspirational act of endurance backed by unprecedented feats of design and engineering — a potent, urgent metaphor for climate action that reaches across languages and circumstances. There's no time to waste.
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Genre — Spectacle, physical theatre.
Duration — 8-10 hours.
Company size — 3 performers.
Venue suitability — Site specific.
Touring history — Luminato Festival, Toronto, 2025 · Greenwich and Docklands Festival, London, 2024 · Antwerp Summer Festival, 2024 · Nelson Arts Festival, New Zealand, 2023 · MONA FOMA, Tasmania, 2022 · Sydney Opera House and Sydney Festival, 2022.
“It's a confronting spectacle, full of jeopardy, and also hope”
— Dance Magazine UK
“It’s a confronting spectacle, full of jeopardy, and also hope” — Dance Magazine UK
Behind the Work — the strongest candidate of any show reviewed. Freezing rigging into a 2.7-tonne ice form and hanging it from a crane is “unprecedented design and engineering,” per the show's own copy, and currently gets one throwaway sentence.
Touring history — Toronto, London, Antwerp, New Zealand, Tasmania, Sydney across three years.
Presenter Logistics Snapshot — bespoke to your setting.
More From This Artist — Legs On The Wall also Endling live on the slate.
