The Day in the Life of a Beaver | 05, 06, 19, 20 Jun 2026
The Day in the Life of a Beaver blended drawing, comedy, natural history and reflection to explore the return of beavers to London and the UK and what humans could learn from them.
About
Beavers were returning to London and the UK after being driven to extinction here 400 years ago. This 50-minute real-time projected drawing and live performance blended comedy, natural history, personal and political discovery, following a day in the life of a beaver. Through facts, philosophy and humour, the beaver became a lens for rethinking how we lived.
Beavers became extinct 400 years ago in the UK because of the violence and greed of their human neighbours. They were now slowly being reintroduced, by humans again, to help the ecosystem as it struggled with climate change and ecological disasters.
Beavers are keystone animals — their very way of life helps others. Unintentionally, they create their world and, in doing so, build healthy worlds for other animals, including humans. The show mixed stand-up, storytelling and art-making in real time, with voiceover, music and sound effects, creating a unique, mesmerising and uplifting experience.
The performance was accompanied by a beaver lodge installation in the gallery within The Keystone Exhibition at Proposition Gallery. The lodge contained drawings and paintings of beaver life and thought, with original works available to buy at beaver prices. Together, the performance and installation invited audiences to learn how to become keystone creatures themselves.
Audience Reviews of The Day in the Life of a Beaver:
“Honestly, the highlight of my cultural year so far.”
“Funny, bizarre and deeply moving in equal measure.”
“I went home buzzing from the vibe. [The] drawing process made me want to try it myself to unravel a story.”
“A great, fun evening. Ingenious work. In awe.”
“Moving and great.”
“An incredible artist - I have never seen anything like that before. I’m a huge fan.”
Artist Biography
Lisa Gornick
Lisa Gornick is a British filmmaker, performer, and visual artist. She works across film, live performance, drawing, and television. Gornick's practice is characterised by cross-platform productions that combine feature filmmaking with live drawing shows, in which she creates real-time projected drawings while narrating stories, playing music, and exploring themes of queerness, identity, and feminist politics. She is the writer, director, and producer of three micro-budget feature films, and has developed a body of solo live drawing shows that have been performed at venues including the Soho Theatre, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Gilded Balloon), the Barbican Cinema in London, and internationally at the Dortmund/Cologne International Women's Film Festival and the National Museum of Cinema, Turin.