Discover the inspiration behind Figures in Extinction.

Figures in Extinction fuses contemporary dance with an array of rich and unique source materials. 

Born from an exchange of ideas between visionary choreographer Crystal Pite and groundbreaking theatre-maker Simon McBurney, the triptych explores extinction and human connectivity to the living world and each other.

The creative teams behind Figures in Extinction have shared the books, poetry, songs, video installations and films that inspired them. 

Explore the list below for an insight into the performance at the Festival 2025.

Books of Inspiration

Anne Michaels: Fugitive Pieces (2009)

The Canadian poet’s first novel explores the Holocaust and generational trauma through seven-year-old Jakob, who is rescued from Nazi-occupied Poland, and Ben, the son of two Holocaust survivors living in Canada.

Atul Gawande: Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End (2014)

American surgeon Atul Gawande tackles medicine, end-of-life care and our relationship with death.

Carlo Rovelli: Reality is Not What it Seems (2014)

The best-selling writer and physicist Carlo Rovelli distils mind-bending topics into digestible, world-changing reads. Reality Is Not What It Seems follows key developments in physics from ancient Greece to the present day.

Davi Kopenawa: The Falling Sky: Words of a Yanomami Shaman (2013)

First-person account of the life story and thinking of Davi Kopenawa, shaman and spokesman for the Yanomami of the Brazilian Amazon.

David Abram: The Spell of the Sensuous (1996)

The American philosopher and ecologist explores how language and thinking has shaped our view of the natural world.

Elaine Scarry: The Body in Pain (1985)

Academic Elaine Scarry explores the nature of physical suffering through literature, art and history.

Elena Passarello: Animals Strike Curious Poses (2018)

16 wonderful essays on famous animals from woolly mammoth Yuka to Darwin’s tortoise Harriet.

Hernan Diaz: In the Distance (2017)

Håkan Söderström walks through the heart of America in this coming-of-age western set in the nineteenth-century.

Iain McGilchrist: The Master And His Emissary: The Divided Brain And The Making Of The Western World (2009)

Psychiatrist turned philosopher Iain McGilchrist considers how ideas about the brain have influenced society, history and culture.

J.L. Austin: Performative Utterances (1961)

A key text by philosopher J.L. Austin, whose work explored knowledge, truth, language and speech acts.

John Berger: Into Their Labours (1974–92)

John Berger was a celebrated novelist, art historian and critic, who had a long creative partnership with Simon McBurney. Our first Berger recommendation is the trilogy of novels Into Their Labours, which trace the journey of the European peasant from the mountains to the cities.

John Berger: Why Look at Animals (2014)

Why Look at Animals is a modern compilation of John Berger’s writings about animals, nature and human behavior. We recommend the essays ‘Why look at animals?’ and ‘Ape Theatre’.

Kate Briggs: This Little Art (2017)

What is it like to read, write and live with the works of others? This Little Art is a beautiful deep dive into the world of literary translation.

Michael Malay: Late Light: Finding Home in the West Country (2023)

Winner of the 2024 Wainwright Prize, Late Light is a non-fiction book about finding home in England through our animal neighbours.

Robert MacFarlane: Mountains Of The Mind (2003)

Robert McFarlane is a prize-winning nature writer. Start with his first book about the strange allure of the mountain.

Robin Wall Kimmerer: Braiding Sweetgrass (2020)

Bestselling book from the indigenous scientist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer on the gifts and lessons of other living beings.

Robin Wall Kimmerer: The Serviceberry (2024)

This follow-up to Braiding Sweetgrass explores gratitude, reciprocity and community through Indigenous wisdom and the plant world.

Tyson Yunkaporta: Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World (2020)

A crucial book on how indigenous perspectives can transform historical and cultural issues.

Poetry

Anne Carson: Nox (2010)

The internationally-renowned Canadian poet writes an elegy for her brother – a beautiful selection of poetry on grief.

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson: All We Can Save (2020)

A climate anthology from 60 women at the forefront of the movement featuring poetry, essays and art.

Essays & Excerpts

John Berger: On the Economy of the Dead (2008)

12 theses – you can read them online. What do you make of them?

Samanth Subramanian: Vultures (2020)

An essay on the Indian vulture, our relationship to the animal and its impending extinction.

Films

Jeff Wall: Life in Pictures (2024)

A short film about the extraordinary Canadian photographer Jeff Wall presented and co-written by the broadcaster and art historian James Fox.

Video Installations

Bill Viola: Nantes Triptych (1992)

Video installation by pioneering American artist Bill Viola.

Musical Inspiration

Cecil Sharp

Cecil Sharp was a collector and key figure in the folk-song revival during the nineteenth century.

David Bowie

Particularly Lazarus from his latest and final album Blackstar.

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Early twentieth century composer with a prolific output covering operas, ballets, orchestral works and film scores.

Sam Lee

Mercury Prize nominated folk singer, conservationist, song collector and activist

Experience Figures in Extinction at the Festival Theatre from 22–24 August 2025.