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What would you do with a day out of time? Artist Monster Chetwynd leads a delightfully bonkers exploration of the Leap Day, from ancient history to fantasy-performance-radio.

What would you do with a day out of time? The leap day, 29th February, is the result of an unsolved 3000 year-old problem. Conceived by the Egyptians, passed on to the Romans and reformed by Pope Gregory, it鈥檚 all too often a day that passes by without another thought. This year, the artist Monster Chetwynd won鈥檛 let that happen. Known for her exuberant large-scale multi-person performances in fantastical environments, she delves deep into the leap year's ancient history and bizarre sexist customs to inspire a new radiophonic performance. True to Chetwynd-form, she brings together a group friends and collaborators in her Glasgow studio to reimagine everything she learns about the leap day into a wildly playful theatrical happening. Monster Chetwynd was the first performance artist nominated for the Turner Prize in 2012. Her work includes a multi-person Cat Bus (2010), a Bertolt Brecht and Betty Boop-inspired children鈥檚 play Dogsy Ma Bone (2016), and giant luminous slugs slithering up the stairs and fa莽ade of Tate Britain (2018).

With contributions from Kristen Lippencott, former director of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.

Performance featuring Marc David, Bob Moyler, Jessica Ramm, Anna Danielewicz and Rabi.

Produced by Eliza Lomas
Mixed by Olga M Reed
Photo credit: Monster Chetwynd

A Boom Shakalaka production for 大象传媒 Radio 4

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29 minutes

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