Flow Future Life of our Ocean's Wealth & Milesians The Coming of the Gaels

Flow Future Life of our Ocean's Wealth & Milesians The Coming of the Gaels

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Posted 2022-04-03 by dpmfollow

Sat 16 Apr 2022 - Fri 22 Apr 2022

Flow (Future Life of our Ocean's Wealth) & Milesians – The Coming of the Gaels

The sea comes to Coventry with a family fun day and large-scale outdoor theatre show packed with ocean-inspired activities and stories. Created by Coventry-based Imagineer, Flow (Future Life of our Ocean's Wealth) is aiming to be both entertaining and thought-provoking, encouraging people of all ages to explore their cultural connections to other people and to the planet. Forming part of Birmingham 2022 Festival, it features alongside hundreds of other events in a celebration of creativity across the West Midlands.

There will be a big top tent on the grounds of Bishop Ullathorne School in Coventry where families can book a free half day of activities and in the evening the grounds will stage a new production Milesians – The Coming of the Gaels.



The events follow four months of working with children in Coventry schools between September and December of last year exploring environmental themes, the current state of the world's oceans and ways the young people can help to protect the seas.

As part of the project the children created artwork and soundscapes as well as short dramas which were filmed and will be on display in the big top. Turning the Tide, the family event, will also include spoken word, the chance to explore the water cycle, a walk-through tsunami and virtual reality headsets taking people under the sea. There are also traditional fairground games given an environmental angle plus the chance to see the artwork Jack's Frogs which has been on display elsewhere in Coventry.

Taking place between April 18-22, at the close of both the morning and the afternoon sessions, theatre company Highly Sprung will perform an outdoor production of their show CastAway which explores the throwaway society and its effects on the planet.

Artistic director Kathi Leahy says: "The day is about getting involved with water and the oceans, in an enjoyable way through hands-on activities and games and experiencing the ocean through sound, touch and vision. Thought-provoking and fun, it's a free day out. Our whole planet has been affected by climate change and rising sea levels. We are a landlocked city and so the oceans aren't really at the forefront of our minds but how we live our lives here in Coventry affects people across the world and the consequences of climate change affect us all. So the more we can broaden awareness of the environmental issues and take responsibility for our actions the better."

And in the evenings, between April 16-22, audiences can enjoy the large scale outdoor theatre production Milesians – The Coming of the Gaels. The show features a community cast, performers from Circolombia and Rebel Manifesto Aerial with a soundtrack by internationally renowned musician Johnny Donnelly, managing director of Arcana and original drummer with The Saw Doctors.



Combining art, engineering, circus, aerial performance and theatre, the show re-imagines an ancient Celtic myth in which the Milesians, or Gaels, invaded Ireland hoping to settle there. Coming up against the god-like race of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the two peoples had to choose between war and peace. In researching the story, Kathi also discovered the Milesians had roots in Africa and Europe, particularly Spain, so the story has a much wider message.

Kathi explains: "The story explores the notion of difference and claim and whether one people can co-exist peacefully with another," says Kathi. "It features themes of migration, cultural co-existence and healing. We are in a city with 125 different languages and so many cultural backgrounds and it's an amazing city with so many stories and, when you look into those stories, you begin to find connections and parallels. Many of our communities have made a journey across the ocean to arrive in Coventry. The sea is the great connector. So the show is a way of getting people to connect with the ocean and think about our stories and our cultural connections."

Kathi says the tale of the Milesians is a little-known part of Ireland's cultural heritage and now she believes its message will resonate with modern audiences. "We have a big Irish community in Coventry many of whom crossed the water in the 1950s and 60s to help rebuild the city and I hope they will have a deep connection with this story. It's a project I've been wanting to do for some time. I'm very proud of my Irish cultural heritage - I'm Coventry Irish, so in this Coventry City of Culture Year this is an opportunity to celebrate our Irish community alongside all of our communities and explore those connections."

Flow is a three-part project. The first phase, Navigate, saw the children learning the themes and creating the initial ideas. The second phase is Turning the Tide and the third part is Milesians – The Coming of the Gaels. And, for Kathi, all are interlinked. "Both Turning the Tide and Milesians – Coming of the Gaels explore our responsibility to one another and our planet, we are custodians of the land and sea for future generations."

The three elements have also seen Imagineer working with a host of different people including the community cast, professional artists, schoolchildren, engineers and young people not in employment. The event is produced as part of Coventry UK City of Culture 2021. "Flow sits within the ideas behind the City of Culture, as it's about bringing professional organisations and community organisations together," says Kathi. "It's been a difficult year in terms of Covid for the City of Culture so to be able to come together and enjoy outdoor arts is something really special."

Flow: Milesians – The Coming of the Gaels is performed from Sat 16 to Fri 22 April, tickets cost from £5 and need to be booked. Turning the Tide – An Ocean's Fair is open between Mon 18 and Fri 22 April, half-day tickets are free but need to be booked in advance. Both take place at Bishop Ullathorne School Grounds in Coventry. For more information and booking see https://imagineer-productions.co.uk/projects/flow/

#community_theatre
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#free
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#april
!date 16/04/2022 -- 22/04/2022
%wnbirmingham
70650 - 2023-01-26 01:48:25

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