Fissure - Taking Drama Outdoors

© gsum

What to wear to the theatre? It's a fair bet the answer doesn't often include boots and a waterproof. A unique site-specific theatrical event exploring the natural terrain of the Yorkshire Dales will be held later this month, taking the audience down caves and on a 12-mile hike.

Ingleborough from Kingsdale - New Year's Eve  © gsum
Ingleborough from Kingsdale - New Year's Eve
© gsum, Dec 2008

Fissure, by acclaimed 'performance maker' Louise Ann Wilson, will take place on, under and around Ingleborough over three days from the 20th to the 22nd of May 2011, taking its audience on a walking exploration through the heart of the Dales, following waterways, climbing to hill tops and entering the ancient cave passages of the region.

Limestone pavement  © Simon Webb
Limestone pavement
© Simon Webb

The drama takes as its starting point the death of a much-loved young woman from a brain tumour.

'This deeply personal story will serve as the foundation of a new legend for the landscapes in which Fissure is situated' says the publicity gumpf in the sort of pseudy style that theatrical publicists live and breathe, '...a tale that fuses neurological and geological mapping with archetypal, universally shared tellings of life, death, the underworld and rebirth.'

Louise Ann Wilson  © Simon Webb
Louise Ann Wilson
© Simon Webb

Fissure's award-winning artistic team includes poet Elisabeth Burns (Michael Marks Award for Poetry Pamphlets and the Mirehouse Poetry Prize, both 2009), choreographer Nigel Stewart and composer Jocelyn Pook (winner of a British Composer Award and Olivier Award; Golden Globe and BAFTA nominee) who will be creating a new full-length choral piece for the performance. Also involved are leading neuroscientists Dr. Michael Brada and Chris Clark, and a range of earth and environmental scientists. People from the area - farmers, fell runners, cavers, choirs and potters – are sharing their stories, skills and resources as well as participating in Fissure.

Louise Ann Wilson creates site-specific work made in collaboration with artists and experts from fields not usually associated with performance work. Fissure is part of The Re-Enchantment, a national arts project run by production agency Artevents that explores our relationships to place.



Dates: Evening Friday 20th – Afternoon Sunday 22nd May. Ticket prices vary (and include performance, weekend accommodation, transfers and meals). For more info see the Artevents website.


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