Flibbertigibbet aims to produce visual and physical theatre that will delight, entertain and provoke audiences.
The company believes wholly in the concept of “Play” to put on a play. Each project will be given a unique flavour, shaped by the collaboration of exciting performer/creators cross art forms. We will explore different theatre forms to find new ways to tell old stories or old ways to tell new stories… but all distinctly “Flibbertigibbet”.
The word Flibbertigibbet is often associated with flighty, gossipy, (usually) women. It is something or someone of no consequence; it could be the imitation of the sound of idle prattle. I love that the great Jonathan Miller OBE; was described as entering “the footling flibbertigibbet world of theatre”!
However, the word also has darker connotations; being a name for an imp or demon. It is used in Shakespeare’s King Lear, one of the “Five fiends that have been in poor Tom at once…” (Act 4 Sc.1). Flibbertigibbet seems to be the demon of grimacing and gurning; “…This is the foul fiend Flibbertigibbet: …he gives the web and the pin, squinies the eye and makes the harelip; mildews the white wheat and hurts the poor creature of earth.”(Act 3 Sc. 4)
The roots of the word could be derived from “Fly by the Gibbet”, where the hung were left to rot, swinging in the breeze and pecked at by crows.
Flibbertigibbet’s work will not shy away from darker themes and will play with light and shade. The company’s work is influenced by comedy, clown and a disarming lightness of touch.
But…it’s also just a lovely word and feels fun to say; try it!