Treehouse Theatre
Interactive theatre and drama for the history curriculum,
plus story telling, pantomime, festival fun and more...
The Shaftesbury Tales: Tour Diary
Shaftesbury Tales Day 1
(Monday 8th July 2024)
The actors had a busy time last week rehearsing every day, fine-tuning the songs in the show, and perfecting the many speed-of-light costume changes. We are so grateful to BH1 Elim Church back in Bournemouth for making us so welcome and hosting our rehearsals.
Rehearsals are over, and now the fun begins!
We're based at Camp Hartland near Wareham for the first part of the tour. An absolutely stunning location surrounded by heathland running down to Poole harbour, with the bonus of an onsite cafe 'The Kitchen' full of tasty food.
http://www.hartlandstud.co.uk/
​​
The rest of the actors are due on Wednesday, so it was a reduced company of Ben, Charmaine and Louisa who headed into Corfe Castle to spend a wonderful evening rehearsing with Double Act Drama Group, who are performing with us for the first four shows in Corfe and Wareham.
​​​
We've set up camp and are under canvas now till the end of the month, traveling by foot, living simply, and connecting with St Edwards pilgrimage and the historical roots of the story we are telling.
We loved setting up our homely old school camp - good thing we took photos before the heavens opened, and the winds howled wildly till morning!!
Shaftesbury Tales Day 2
(Tuesday 9th July 2024)
We spent the day holding workshops with children in Year 4 and 5 at Shaftesbury Primary School, learning signs to go with our song The Dorset Hills, checking out the hurdy-gurdy, playing games, dressing up as Saxons and performing together.
​
Then a visit to Bearcat Collective to say hi Elvis the horse, who's walking with us into Shaftesbury. Elvis is the horse featured in our Shaftesbury Tales poster designed by Delpine Jones.
The cast of The Shaftesbury Tales have been working with Chris Pukeko Flounders from Simply Training, to embed sign language throughout the performance.
​
The sign language we use is based on makaton rather than BSL, and is aimed at helping people with additional needs be better able to follow the story. We speak with our voices, bodies and hands, signing key words, and teaching the audience signs as well as words in our singalong song 'The Dorset Hills'.
Shaftesbury Tales Day 3
(Wednesday 10th July 2024)
Today our company is all together ready for the tour to begin. Pete, Penny, Al and Faye arrived in camp, then we met our y10 work experience students Faith and Merrily at Wareham station. We threw ourselves into action straight away, making ourselves at home in Corfe! We spent the afternoon playing songs in the playground at Corfe Castle Primary school at home time, and outside St Edwards Church, with a crowd of local people and holiday makers watching on! Then a lovely dinner at The Castle Inn.
Its been really fun to put together the set and costumes for The Shaftesbury Tales.
The costumes search for that balance between the rather drab authenticity of Saxon fashion, and helpless leaning towards the colour and theatrics of childrens theatre!
​
Shaftesbury Tales Day 4
(Thursday 11th July 2024)
All 10 performances of 'The Shaftesbury Tales' are staged in towns and villages mentioned in the Doomsday Book. Places with a deep connection to the events of 1000 years ago, and none more so than St Edwards Church right in the centre of Corfe Castle Village, a key location in our dark ages murder mystery! This is where the 16 year old King Edward was murdered by persons still to this day unknown, this is where his horse bolted and dragged him by a foot down the lanes and over the hills, this is where his dead body was hidden in a blind womans shack whose sight was restored and St Edwards church built on that very spot to commemorate the miracle of it.
​
Our opening performance was on the lawn outside St Edwards church. The cast was joined by local legends Double Act Drama Group performing The Villager's Tale, and children from Corfe Primary School performed The Pilgrims Tale along with some of the audience members.
​
Thanks to Dorset Morri'arty photography for these great images.
​
Shaftesbury Tales Day 5
(Friday 12th July 2024)
We started the day with our second Pilgrim's Tale workshop at Corfe Castle Primary School which was lots of fun. The workshop gives participants a chance to learn and practice performance skills, try their hand at some of the roles in the show and put together a scene, check out the props and set, try on costumes, and learn the song. They can then come along to the evening performance to watch - or, even better - to perform in The Pilgrim's Tale scene alongside us!
​
A classic British summer weather forecast persuaded us to move into the Village Hall for the evening show rather than risk the great outdoors. St Edwards church is such a pivotal location in our story, we were really pleased to have had one show there at least, and the Village Hall was a welcome refuge tonight from showers and a rather cool breeze.
We had a wonderful and generous audience in Corfe Village Hall. It was particularly special to have 4 of our writers in the audience, all of whom have their Tales published in the programme-booklet. It was lovely for our actors, and also the Double Act performers, to meet the writers whose work inspired the characters they played.
A medieval pub scene from the Bayeaux Tapestry is the inspiration for our Shaftesbury Tales backdrop / thatched pub.
I have such huge respect for those incredible craftspeople who made the original, and its amazing to be able to see such detail in the online archive - you can zoom in and see every stitch (please don't do that to ours!!)
https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/.../discover.../explore-online/
Shaftesbury Tales Day 6
(Saturday 13th July 2024)
Today was a special day - the first pilgrimage day as our company left Corfe Castle and walked to Wareham.
​​​
Our walk to Shaftesbury is split into 6 chunks, and all are welcome to join us. No booking, no payment, just come along and share our path for as long or as little as you like. We were joined today by some residents of Corfe Castle.
Mostly sunny, some clouds, and a drenching....and one glorious walk across the rolling Dorset Hills and along the Corfe River into Wareham, in the most excellent company.
Penny, our lead Pilgrim, shared folklore of plants and trees with us, helped us walk with intention and mindfulness, and really appreciate our journey. We learnt about the protective qualities of oak, how to transfer your warts to an ash tree, and how to use hazelnuts to find your future partner.
Shaftesbury Tales Day 7
(Sunday 14th July 2024)
Todays performance was in a special venue - Lady St Mary church in Wareham.
​This project is local history brought to life, and this church is a key location in the Dark Ages story of Edward the Martyr which we're performing.
After King Edward's murder in Corfe, his body was discovered in the swamps between Corfe and Wareham, and secretly buried in Lady St Mary's graveyard. A few months later mystical lights appeared in the church yard, revealing the secret grave, so his body was dug up and it wasn't rotted at all!
His body was kept in the little chapel at the back of the church for a year, until a big procession took him to Shaftesbury to be officially Sainted.
The church was an absolutely spectacular place to perform with acoustics to die for, and we were made so welcome - thank you so much to the church community. They even let Alastair play their organ and ding the church bells!
We held a 'Open to all' Pilgrims Tale workshop in Wareham Library in the afternoon, then walked over to the Church with our newest cast members to perform the show.
Local theatre group Double Act performed The Villager's Tale scene once again, managing the awkward spaces with great professionalism!
​
These photos were taken by an audience member - Sue Sparkes - thank you!
Shaftesbury Tales Day 8
(Monday 15th July 2024)
Our last show in Wareham marked the of our opening chapter.
​
Our performance is made up of 9 scenes - 2 of which are always performed by different groups of people along the route: The Villager's Tale and The Pilgrim's Tale.
During the Shaftesbury Tales tour, The Villager's Tale will be performed by four different local theatre groups, who have each written their own version of this scene. We gave them 10 of the highly commended writing competition stories for inspiration, and a basic scene outline. Each group has created something entirely different, reflecting the style, ideas and performers in their group. Charmaine K , our community director, has been working with all four groups over the past two months to make sure their scene dovetails neatly with ours, and to offer support as needed with music, costumes, staging ideas etc.
​
For our first four performances in Purbeck, The Villager's Tale has been performed by Corfe-based Double Act Drama Group. What an absolute pleasure it has been to work alongside them - such a generous, talented and welcoming group (not to mention cake at rehearsals!). Their performances were funny, well thought out and engaging. Two of the story writers saw their characters brought to life by Double Act and were touched at the thought that had been put into their portrayal. The group has set The Shaftesbury Tales off in style, and we shall miss them greatly!
​
If you live in Purbeck and would like to perform, Double Act are open to new members of all ages, and meet regularly at Corfe Village Hall. Their next major production is 'This Secret Isle' in November, an explosive thriller set in wartime Purbeck. The group also stages Murder Walks around Corfe Castle in the summer.
Thank you Double Act for your enormous contribution to The Shaftesbury Tales, and for warmly welcoming us to Purbeck.
​
​
Todays Pilgrim's Tale was performed by a group of students from Purbeck School and local home educating families, following a workshop during the afternoon.
The students from Purbeck, led by their drama teacher, have had various opportunities to be involved in this project, from creative writing workshops in school, through to todays performance.
Its not always easy for teachers to find time for this kind of extra-curricular activity, and the students at Purbeck School are blessed with a drama teacher who wants the students to have these opportunities. Thank you Mrs S!
Today is the last day for our Year 10 work experience students Faith and Merrily too. They have thrown themselves whole-heartedly into The Shaftesbury Tales, contributing to the performances with energy and commitment, and in workshops they showed younger children how to join in with everything.
They helped Double Act with props and special effects, are were always ready to jump in when needed. In just a week they really became part of the team and we'll miss them a lot!
​​​
Photos by Dorset Morri'arty, Sue Sparkes and Treehouse Theatre.
Shaftesbury Tales Day 9
(Tuesday 16th July 2024)
Goodbye to Purbeck today, as we walked north through Wareham Forest, through a stupendous bog, over Woolsbarrow hill fort, across the A35 to Bloxworth.
The hill fort rises above the surrounding heath and would have given Edwards pilgrims a good opportunity to get their bearings and contemplate the long road north to Shaftesbury.
The bog is a good opportunity to get the boots off and connect with the earth (according to Ben and Penny!).
​
Photos by Charmaine K and Peter Courtenay
We moved our camp today too - leaving Camp Hartland was a bit of a wrench - it's in such a glorious spot, surrounded by nature reserve between Corfe and Wareham. Also home to 'The Kitchen' who served up the most delicious pasties and have kept us going this past week!
We're settling in at Wooders Campsite now, and I'm sure will feel just as at home in no time.
Shaftesbury Tales Day 10
(Wednesday 17th July 2024)
Today we met at Bloxworth Village Social Club and walked to Winterbourne Whitechurch in absolutely delightful company.
Starting under an ash tree, we exchanged speedwell flowers to bless our journey, admired the rolling hills of Dorset from up on
Eldertons Clump, enjoyed Als rendition of 'John
Barleycorn', and connected to the earth with bare feet.
We did The Big Butterfly Count during our lunch break in Winterbourne Kingston church yard (not many, sadly), met a field of bullocks like curious teenagers, and reflected on the importance of non-attachment to hiking routes in the face of nettles and overgrown pathways.
​We finished our walk under a lovely beech tree on the outskirts of Winterbourne Whitechurch, before heading into the village fete for tea and ice cream (thank you Jackie!).
We've settled into our new campsite at Wooders Campsite (near Bloxworth), with Al contributing his socks to the bunting.
​
He is a knitting tutor and has taught Penny and Ben over the past few days - they are busy making hats and channeling their ancestors! We're very grateful to Bearcat Collective for the loan of their beautiful fire pit, which has greatly enhanced our evenings, and the woodsmoke makes us smell like authentic Saxons too!
Shaftesbury Tales Day 11
(Thursday 18th July 2024)
A wonderful start to the days proceedings, with 22 children from Dunbury Academy joining us for The Pilgrim's Tale drama workshop in their school hall. They were great fun to perform with, and everyone went away buzzing for the evening show.
Sturminster Newton Amateur Dramatic Society - SNADS - joined us for the first of their 3 shows with us. Although they've been collaborating with us for a couple of months now, this was the first time we'd seen them in costume, and they looked really fab!
We decided to hold the performance in the school playground rather than in the hall. It was a perfect summer's evening, calm and warm, with the setting sun giving a beautiful glow to the set.
The show was wonderful. The school children performed the Pilgrim's Tale really well, remembering their lines and movements, and for some overcoming their fears to bravely stand up on stage. SNADS performed their Villager's Tale with great humour and it blended seamlessly into the rest of the show. We especially liked their bucket of glittery poo!
We enjoyed reading everyone's feedback afterwards-
"A medieval yomp" "hilarious and educational" "authentic" "ingenious storytelling" "fantastic and exciting"
​
Photo credit: Flora Thomas
Shaftesbury Tales Day 12
(Friday 19th July 2024)
Today dawned hot and stayed that way all day!! Glorious perfect blue skies, July sunshine, and a gentle breeze, truly the most perfect of summer days for appreciating the rolling hills of Dorset.
We reached a crossroads at a viewpoint graced a by a lone Sycamore tree. A local member of school staff explained that the bench there was in memory of Pete, a local farm worker who died suddenly. What a beautiful contemplative place for his bench.
After a short meditation from Penny, Al sang a song for us all - the moral of which was to always join in with the singing! We said goodbye here to Dunbury Academy and a reduced company of 8 walked onwards to Shillingstone.
​We met at Winterbourne Whitechurch Village Hall, joined by a Home Educating family, plus 45 children and 6 or so staff from Dunbury Academy. Our biggest group yet, we set out 60 strong, all sporting a freshly plucked daisy to protect from kidnap by fairies.
The path led us gently uphill out of Winterbourne Whitechurch, and Penny shared folklore about the trees and plants, explaining that in a time before science, people made sense of their world in a more magical and mystical way. We walked along using all of our senses to appreciate our surroundings, even in silence for a while, which is quite an achievement for 45 primary school children! These children have walked here recently to learn about trees and told us they had measured an old oak tree we passed, and it was 350 years old.
We stopped for lunch in Winterbourne Stickland, reconnecting here with St Edwards Way. Lovely to see the cheerful red way markers again.
Lunch and water refills in the churchyard here, plus organ playing in a deliciously cool church, and reflections on yew trees and honesty seed pods.
The forests after lunch were like another realm - mysterious, humid, tolkeinesque.
A beautiful walk but hot and humid, coinciding with our longest days walk.
All were VERY happy to see The Old Ox Inn in Shillingstone.
Shaftesbury Tales Day 13
(Saturday 20th July 2024)
Today it rained.
The weather gods have been smiling on us though, because we're being looked after by Rosemary and Sandra at Child Okeford Village Hall, we're not walking anywhere, just performing in the warm and dry and eating great cake! (Sunshine due to return tomorrow, just in time for the next walking day). Thank you to Artsreach Dorset for supporting this performance.
Our Pilgrim's Tale workshop was great fun today. We had a wonderful group of half adults and half kids, all of whom threw themselves into their characters with great enthusiasm.
It was especially joyful to have 3 families performing together and making memories together. One said 'this is not your usual Saturday day out!'
​
As the workshop concluded, The Remix and Allsort’d.org drama groups arrived to get their costumes on and work out where everyone was sitting. They are performing The Villager's Tale today. This was a challenge for the group, who had never been in the hall before and had to adapt quickly to a new seating layout.
The performance was truly wonderful, with a warm and generous audience.
It was fascinating to see a third interpretation of The Villager's Tale by The Remix, which was beautifully staged with lots of dance.
It was very moving to see, and the young performers brought home the youth of King Edward when he was murdered - at 16 years old, close in age to many of those on stage.
The Remix theatre group includes people with additional needs, and they put their knowledge of sign language to good use, with sign throughout their scene. We use embedded sign in the rest of the show too, so it fitted in really well.
We were very delighted to see Double Act members in the audience too, it must have been interesting for them to see a completely different interpretation of The Villager's Tale.
"Informative, lively and very funny"
"Wonderful collaboration"
"Great community inclusion....it wouldn't be the same without them"
"My son very much enjoyed performing"
To our delight, we had 3 of our winning writers represented in the audience today. Angela Pawley's story 'The Ward's Tale' was highly commended, and helped shape the intrigue around who murdered Edward and why. Carrie Lewis from Hanford School Dorset encouraged her students to enter the writing competition with great results - Coco Bichard was one of our 8 winners with 'The Tale of the Doctor's Daughter's (11-16yrs), and Aline van Der Broek was highly commended.
​
And back at camp, we knit, sit round the fire, dry our socks ready for the next day...
Shaftesbury Tales Day 14
(Sunday 21st July 2024)
A walking day today, Shillingstone to Fontmell Magna. After the rather extreme heat of our last walking day, we were delighted to see clouds in the sky, and feel a gentle breeze at our backs.
​
We were joined by Jen, Bruce, June and Sarah under a huggable oak tree, and left Shillingstone via an astounding copper beech tree in the churchyard.
A glorious view of Hambledon Hill lay ahead; this iconic hill fort will dominate our vista today as we walk around its shoulders.
Our path took us over lots of bridges, through a holloway replete with coppiced hazel, along lanes bursting with willowherb and meadowsweet.
A hare darted ahead of us, ears bobbing through the long grass, which we decided was a good omen
We were surprised and delighted to be joined by Trevor from SNADS (better known as Cess Pit in The Villager's Tale). It was brilliant to have his local knowledge..... especially the hidden spring in Farrington!! We discovered it in a thick hedge - a deep stone trough buried in undergrowth. Springs don't often change location and this one's right on St Edwards Way, so it's definitely the Miracle Spring we've been singing about all this time!
With great excitement we dipped all our staffs in it, and our St Edward the Martyr flag which has been with us every step of the way. The jaunty blue and yellow of the flag hides a sad story really - one crown for each year of his reign, and the cross of martyrdom.
As we came into Fontmell Magna, we met Christine, a welcoming local lady who showed us round her beautiful garden, right next to the old mill, with the mill stream bubbling past.
And just up the road, another welcome pub at our journeys end, this one, The Fontmell
Shaftesbury Tales Day 15
(Monday 22nd July 2024)
We've been watching the weather forecast very closely as our open air performance at Springhead approached. We had a wet weather back up of course, but Springhead is a stunning setting and we we're really looking forward to it. Happily the weather gods have smiled on us (mostly!) and the raindrops on the met office app gradually dried up.
​
We spent a fun afternoon with 42 children aged 7-11 at St Andrews Primary School just down the road. They had that rather frenetic over-tired and over-excited end of term buzz, but it was a fun workshop, and some of them will perform in The Pilgrim's Tale tonight.
Late afternoon at Springhead was utterly delightful. A leisurely set up was interspersed with lounging under graceful trees, exploring the grounds, drinking spring water (of course!), and chatting to manager Jonathan about sustainability and storytelling.
We feel really lucky to perform here.
The rest of the audience joined us, including 2 of the writers whose stories have gone into the script and are featured in our booklet.
Keri from Alfred FM joined us too - he has been wonderfully supportive of our project. He interviewed Ben our director, performer Alastair on the music, Suzanne who wrote a short story included in the performance, Martin and Craig from SNADS.
Listen again, from 12 mins 16 secs onwards.
​
SNADS arrived for their second performance of The Villager's Tale with us, followed by the children joining in with The Pilgrim's Tale. Al got busy as wardrobe mistress outfitting everyone, the cast soon had mini rehearsals going on around the stage, and the actors from SNADS were warming up. Todays cast is about 30 people!
The show was a joy, with lovely comments in feedback -
"Historical and hysterical"
"Entertaining and inclusive"
"My autistic daughter always loves your shows"
​
And onwards to Shaftesbury we go.
Shaftesbury Tales Day 16
(Tuesday 23rd July 2024)
Today is the final big section along St Edward's Way from Fontmell Magna to The Two Brewers pub in Shaftesbury. We'll be ascending Gold Hill and arriving at Shaftesbury Abbey on Thursday (join us!)
We were joined by Anna and her 2 dogs for todays walk. It's been wonderful to share the walk from Corfe to Shaftesbury - in total 69 people and 3 dogs have joined us so far! (Not to mention the 8 friends who walked it in late spring to check the route with us - thank you!).
We hope more are inspired to look up St Edwards Way and stroll along it, through and over the rolling hills of Dorset.
The route we've walked might not be exactly the same as Edward's procession to Shaftesbury 1000 years ago, road building and land ownership changes the landscape enormously over time after all. But just like a river might gradually shift it's course, a pilgrimage route flows through the landscape and responds to it over time.
Our way has taken us north, north, north, round hill forts, through woods, over rivers, and through Dorset villages, all the time feeling the echoes of those who went before. All of the villages we've performed in are in the Doomsday book - they would have seen Edwards pilgrims passing through, just as we have. And our first glimpse of Shaftesbury through Als telescope was as exciting for us as it would have been for pilgrims a millenia ago.
​
Just as pilgrims have always done, we carried a staff each and tied on to it leaves, flowers, feathers and other items of significance from our journey. Some remind us of a moment on the walk, others echo folklore, protecting the bearer from lightening or fire or kidnap by fairies! Charmaine's beautiful staff pictured.
For the following 500 years, thousands of pilgrims walked the route, one of medieval England's most popular pilgrimages, hoping for miracles at the shrine of St Edward. The dissolution of monasteries in the 1500s put an end to that, as the Abbey was closed, Edwards relics hidden, and the Abbey fell into ruin.
There was a commemorative walk in 1978 - 1000 years since Edwards death - but it's really been since becoming a way-marked pilgrimage route in the past few years that St Edwards Way is coming to attention again. Todays route was devised by Karen Gorham, Bishop of Sherborne, and the Dorset Ramblers.
Route details are on Shaftesbury Abbeys website.
The route was first walked more than 1000 years ago, in a procession taking Edward the Martyrs body from Wareham to Shaftesbury Abbey.
Shaftesbury Tales Day 17
(Wednesday 24th July 2024)
Today the final member of the Tales cast joined us - Elvis the horse!
If you look closely at the Shaftesbury Tales image painted by local illustrator Delphine Jones, you can spot Elvis in medieval pilgrimage mode....now he's joined us for real!
​
Most of St Edward's Way has been across fields, over stiles and along little pathways, so not horse friendly unfortunately. But he will be joining our final ascent up Gold Hill to Shaftesbury Abbey Museum & Gardens on Thursday, which is very exciting!
​
​
Six stories in our writing competition were written from the perspective of horses - including one of the youngest winning Tales. In stories about Edwards murder, there is of course Edwards horse who galloped off dragging his master by the foot after he was stabbed. It's also said Queen Elfryths horse walked backwards at his funeral as if refusing to take part. Hence we've ended up with a whole scene of gossipy horses in the performance!
We have spent today wandering around Shaftesbury with Elvis, playing a bit of music, and visiting the streets around Shaftesbury Primary school where we've held lots of workshops in the lead up to this weekend. Did you spot us?
​
Sam and Chris from Bearcat Collective look after Elvis, and his best friend Dylan - we are very grateful to them for making this possible.
We've moved to our final campsite now - Holyrood Campsite at the foot of Shaftesbury.
Its the most perfect location and an absolutely stunning view over the hills that we have walked across to get here.
We spend our evenings round the fire, or in our bell tent lounge - and Penny has finished knitting her hat!
Shaftesbury Tales Day 18
(Thursday 25th July 2024)
What a day we've had for our grand arrival into Shaftesbury!
We were joined by lots of Dorset folk to finish our pilgrimage; some came in costume, others borrowed one, staffs were handed out. Elvis and Dylan the horses from Bearcat Collective met us outside Ye Olde Two Brewers for the last leg of the journey - spot Elvis in our Shaftesbury Tales image painted by Delphine Jones. We were honoured to be joined by Alex, the Mayor of Shaftesbury, and Stuart Edwards, one of our winning story writers. Other people who had walked previous stretches of St Edwards Way with us also came along for it's grand finale.
Penny-Jane welcomed us to Shaftesbury Abbey Museum & Gardens and stamped our Pilgrim passports. It feels very powerful to stand here in the Abbey to conclude our walk; the end point of our pilgrimage, as it has been for thousands and thousands of people before us.
We gathered round to learn 'The Dorset Hills' accompanied by drum and flute.
In fine voice we all set off up Gold Hill, pausing for photos every so often, because after all it's truly beautiful here (ahem, and rather steep!).
6 days walking; 39.5 miles through the many rolling hills of Dorset. 86 people walked with us, some a little and some a lot, plus 3 dogs and 2 horses. We sang many folk songs, and thwarted countless lightening strikes with charms tied onto our staffs.
​
It's been a wonderful journey which has grounded our project in the communities we passed though; St Edwards Way threading everything together.
We had to make a really difficult decision - to move our workshop and performance into the town hall due to the weather forecast. A bit of drizzle is fine for marching up hills, but no fun for theatre. It was difficult because we've been talking to the Abbey about performing there for a whole year now. The abbey itself is an absolutely pivotal location in our story, and the final scene of the play is set in the Abbey grounds. At least we'll be performing in front of the Town Hall mural depicting the arrival of St Edwards body and procession.
Our opening night in Shaftesbury also opens the Shaftesbury Fringe, and was sold out. Our grateful thanks to the Town Hall for accomodating us when the rain set in.
​
Our Pilgrim's Tale workshop was well attended and great fun. Some excellent acting by the good people of Shaftesbury, including two more of our Shaftesbury story writers - Anne Philpott and Liz Foster.
​
It was our last performance of three with SNADS - what an enormous pleasure it's been to perform with them! Their hilarious version of The Villager's Tale slotted seamlessly into the overall performance. Double Act Theatre Group, our Villager's Tale performers all the way back in Corfe came along for the show tonight, so the two groups could meet eachother.
We had a special guest appearance by Penny-Jane, manager of Shaftesbury Abbey, as Abbess Herleva. She must be a natural as we didn't rehearse that bit and it fitted perfectly! Lovely to have the Abbey represented as we couldn't perform there in person.
To conclude the performance tonight, we had a special moment for 4 of our winning writers in the audience, whose prize included free tickets for this show. Their stories (and 22 others!) were all blended into the script, creating a viewpoint on the past shaped by Dorset people today.
Our 2 'over 25s' winners were recognised. Stuart's story about the power politics behind the murder added a layer of interest to those trying to solve this 1000 year old whodunnit. Anne's feminist take on the murder being traditionally blamed on Aelfryth felt very valid.
Our 2 youngest winners (under 11's) were here too. Jacobs story about Kenric, a boy who King Edward was kind to, balanced out other Tales depicting Edward as being cruel, and reminding us that no-one is horrible ALL the time. And Guilias epic story of the farting horse Ferocious F was completely irresistible for our script writer Ben!
Altogether a rather wonderful welcome to Shaftesbury!
Shaftesbury Tales Day 19
(Friday 26th July 2024)
Shaftesbury has come alive with the Fringe. Buskers fill the air with music, and the road closure allows stalls and cafe tables to overflow onto the streets. People bustle and browse between the tables, study a programme over a coffee whilst deciding what to go and see, a horse clip clops past, costumed performers carry props and instruments to their venues, and impromptu crowds form around musicians and dancers. Everything feels creative, colourful and a bit medieval. We feel very at home!
​
We're in St Peters church for the last 2 days of The Shaftesbury Tales.
We had an energetic workshop today for The Pilgrim's Tale, with lots of families enjoying performing together.
What a lovely audience, including the Mayor of Shaftesbury rubbing shoulders with the Mayor of Wilton, Rachel Diment from Shaftesbury Abbey who designed the waymarker image for St Edwards Way, and Carl Davies, one of the writers whose work features in the performance.
The Villager's Tale was performed by students from Shaftesbury School, with a script written and directed by year 11 student Liv. The group was supported by their drama teachers, and Carl Davis - not just one of our highly commended writers but also their English teacher!
We have been so impressed by the students over the past couple of months, and today they really rose to the occasion with a well-delivered, funny and charming performance.
We've had amazing feedback with almost every audience member giving us 5* and all saying they'd recommend the show to others.
​
"Simply awesome and so well done"
"Life-affirming, funny, full of joy"
"Lovely to have local students involved"
"Vivid, lively, jolly, funny"
"Totally engaging, very involving"
Shaftesbury Tales Day 20
(Saturday 27th July 2024)
Our last day, a beautiful sunny summer day.
​
We started with a fun workshop with local families in the morning, and an hour later our last Pilgrim's Tale group are ready to perform their scene.
The workshop makes it possible for people to share the fun of being in a show with very little rehearsal or preparation, and gives a taste of performance which they might want to follow up later!
​
​​​
​Shaftesbury secondary school came in early to run through their Villager's Tale scene with us, quickly rehearsing in a couple of new actors for today's show (thank you for stepping in Izzy and Jack). They've been working on their scene for about 6 weeks, with support from our community director Charmaine, and we love the way they've used the Tales we gave them for inspiration. Out of all our Villager's Tale groups, the students have used the text of the stories most closely, with a clever script that incorporates dialogue drawn directly from the writers words.
Finally the doors opened for our last audience, and Shaftesbury did not disappoint. The church was absolutely packed, everyone enthusiastically learnt 'The Dorset Hills', sang, laughed and applauded their way through the performance. It felt warm and joyful for us - thank you to everyone who came along, and who chose to see us when there was SO MUCH going on. Lord Elfhere and ArchBishop Dunstan shook hands for the last time, as the minstrels looked on.
It's always bittersweet at the end of the last show. We describe our show as 'immersive'....but for us the entirety of July has been!
We've camped and cooked together, walked between the shows, drank mead round the fire in the evenings, learned to knit Saxon hats, practiced archery, and lived a very simple life, focused on the Shaftesbury Tales. It's been unique and delightful. The workshops and performances have been where our world touched the outside world, and our audiences joined us for a while.
​
To wrap it all up, off to Ecco Gelato for a not-so-medieval ice-cream to round it all off!
Thank you to everyone who was part of The Shaftesbury Tales - so many of you and in so many ways! It's been an absolute joy.
​
We want more of you to have the chance to see and be part of The Shaftesbury Tales, so we hope to return in a few years time. If you live along the route/locally and would like to be involved, or have great ideas to share, do drop us a line
​​​
The End