Folk theatre brings environmentalism to life

“Ssshhhh come and look! It’s the hedge-springer, the skidaddler, the wood-cat, the skulker, the bleary-eyed, the glance-aside. The animal that no one dares name… But we will, it’s the Hare!”

Cocooned under a warm shelter in the Trinity Centre garden, perched on wooden benches in front of a makeshift stage, a line of little people settle in to spend a wet lunchtime with mischievous leverets Starer and Nibbler.

The hares are joined by a cast of other comedically characterful animals, including a wild cow, strutting rabbit, arrogant elephant, and tropical fish that dances with wild abandon to the music so magically created by Springer – a storytelling hare with bass in hand and effects at the ready.

A wider audience of parents, babes-in-arms and wildly excitable toddlers are treated to folk stories, songs from round the world and laugh-out-loud moments as the leverets occupy themselves whilst they wait anxiously for mum to return from finding food.

But there’s a serious message hidden behind the frolics: the importance of caring for nature, her creatures and their homes. The show capers through unusually hot summers, river health, the joy of meadows and nature’s love of diversity.

And it playfully empowers children to take action. As mummy hare says, “If something’s important to you, it’s better to do something than nothing.”

Children meet a hare made from willow – photo: Ursula Billington

The Tidal Tales Collective have been making environmental family theatre since 2021. They put their values into every element of their work: from the exquisitely rendered sustainable set design, crafted from natural and repurposed materials, to the folk songs and stories that encourage audiences to consider the world around them in a new light.

Kesty Morrison, co-director, writer and – for this show – hare/cow/alligator/fish, says this type of art has the capacity to make a big impact:

“Theatre is very absorbing, and you can explore so many different themes in an interactive way,” she says.

“Young people are so absorbent, they really learn things. You can really get a message across early. And we also try to make shows that all ages of a family can enjoy because we want to impact all the generations.”

Making shows interactive helps children to engage in topics, to think things through and take those ideas home with them.

Kesty is thrilled when she sees it working:

“We make tiny mice from pine cones, which we let the children play with for the duration of the show,” she offers up as an example. “We did a performance in Highbridge and walking home I spotted a couple of adults and kids from the audience – they were gathering pine cones to take home and make their own pine cone mice!”

Kesty beams. “It was so lovely to see they were already interacting with nature, that they’d been inspired to get creative in that way.”

Tidal Tales are also running Endangered Crafts workshops – like this colourfully chaotic morris dancing session at Trinity. Photo: Ursula Billington

Alongside the performances, Tidal Tales are running workshops introducing audiences to Endangered Crafts. These are traditional crafts such as wood turning, blacksmithing and basketry that have been put on the ‘red list’ as they are in real danger of dying out. The Heritage Crafts project serves to embody “a shared will to avoid the cultural loss that is borne each time a craft dies”.

Tidal Tales are focusing on willow weaving, corn dolly making and – to the delight of the small people at Trinity – morris dancing. There’s a lot to be gained from these crafts, says Kesty.

“Engaging people with natural materials reminds us that we have all these materials around us that aren’t plastic, that are part of the natural order of things, and that are so versatile,” she says, with a nod to the willow which makes up the majority of the set and props, designed by co-director Katie Riddle.

“It’s really beautiful to look at. And being able to see all the different things you can do with that one substance – I mean, willow is magic, it really is. It’s great to see people engaging with it and realising that.”

The team are already planning their next show, the Winter’s Walk. The tale of two apothecary hedgehogs explores the lives of hibernating creatures and their habitats with the usual mix of song, story and a contemporary twist – this time “a little bit of spice”, as Kesty says, from Bristol musician and beatbox teacher Jack Salt. The show will be coming to Weston-Super-Mare’s Front Room, Trinity Centre and more venues in February 2024.

For now, whether it’s the kiddies themselves or the actions they can take to make the world a kinder, healthier place, the leverets and their friends leave behind one vital message:

“Tiny little things can make a big difference.”

Join the Tidal Tales team for a workshop and see the show at various venues including Shambala Festival over August Bank Holiday: www.tidaltalescollective.com/upcoming-shows