Join Plum, Lily & Basil amongst a curious world of plants for an enchanting tale of kinship and home, told through music, movement and multi-sensory storytelling. A waft of mint, a crunch of peas, a sprinkle of fresh herbs in a cup of tea…rediscover the joy of our natural world, and have a nibble on the home-grown set!
Uprooted featured Scotland’s first Living Stage; a recyclable, biodegradable and edible theatre set created from locally found, reclaimed materials. The plants on stage were grown from seed by children from 4 Glasgow primary schools involved in our Out to Play project. Part theatre show, part garden and part art installation, audiences had the opportunity to nibble on plants, smell herbs and sample drinks made from the set.
The production toured throughout August 2015 to various outdoor venues across Glasgow including the Merchant City Festival, Barrhead Water Works, Kilmardinny House and The Children’s Wood, finishing with visits to the 4 Glasgow Primary Schools with pupils excited to see how their plants had grown from tiny seeds into the amazing vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers on set.
The production connected audiences young & old with plants and nature through a unique multi-sensory theatre experience performed by a musician, dancer, storyteller and a supporting cast of plants! The show explored themes of transformation, abundance, the cycle of life and seeing our wider planet as home.
Uprooted & Out to Play from Mike Rea on Vimeo.
Laura MacKenzie-Stuart, Portfolio Manager – Theatre and International at Creative Scotland, said: “We are delighted to support Eco Drama Theatre Company’s ‘Uprooted’. The ‘Living Stage’ of this innovative outdoor production has been designed by acclaimed set designer and eco scenographer, Tanja Beer. Through this partnership the theatre hope to encourage children and young people to engage with their natural environment, green issues and sustainability, through the visual of performance.”
To create Uprooted we collaborated with Set Designer & Eco Scenographer Tanja Beer who has championed the concept of The Living Stage. Since making its debut at the 2013 Castlemaine State Festival (Australia), The Living Stage has successfully travelled to Cardiff (UK) as part of the Trans-Plantable Living Room and continues to generate interest all over the world. Uprooted was the first Living Stage production created in Scotland, the first devised with and for children, as well as the first Living Stage to tour.
Sustainable Set Design – The Living Stage a Zero-Waste Set
At the end of its tour, The Living Stage was returned to the main Glasgow Primary School where it was first grown, with set pieces becoming their planters, its plants their food and its waste their compost, transforming a grey metal fenced playground area into a unique enticing play space for children to use for storytelling, gardening and outdoor learning for many years to come.
Read more about our Out to Play project.
View a selection of photo albums from the Uprooted tour.
Read Tanja Beer’s blog post about her experience of creating The Living Stage for Uprooted – The Boy & The Sunflower.
Download the Mint & Rosemary Cordial recipe from Uprooted, made with fresh herbs picked from our set! Mint & Rosemary Cordial Recipe Uprooted
Uprooted Living Stage Replanting Day (timelapse) from Eco Drama on Vimeo.
Reviews
“It made me feel wonderful, bright and bubbly.” Primary 5 Pupil, Corpus Christi Primary
“Fantastic show, imaginative, musical, whimsical. Growing plants is the way forward. Thank you!” Audience Member – Merchant City Festival
“Wonderful. I smiled almost the whole time, apart from the plant who died, but that bit was perfect and made all the smiles make sense. I’m sure there will be a long life beyond the 1 hour we came here. Thank you!” Charlotte, Audience Member, Merchant City Festival
“Not to be missed! Fantastic, essential Creative Learning Experience. You will enjoy every minute and be entranced, amused and deeply moved by the experience. Thank you to all the stars!” Teacher, Balornock Primary
“I felt like the show brightened up my day.” Primary 5 Pupil, Corpus Christi Primary
“Well done, everyone! Keeping adults and kids enthralled is no mean feat. Drink was lovely xx” Audience Member, Merchant City Festival
“Staging of the show outside made it a bit more special. Outdoor atmosphere was calming and the set was beautiful – quite magical!” Teacher, St Vincent’s Primary
“The show made me feel calm and happy.” P5 Pupil, Balornock Primary
“Thank you for braving the ever so unpredictable weather yesterday! We loved the show. Full of charm and green goodness! A really important piece of work to help children and families feel close to nature and the food we eat.” Tanja Czajka, audience member – Merchant City Festival
“Watching this show has made me see plants in a whole new light. I’m a landscape gardener and until now I just saw them as plants. I didn’t realise their complexities, or that you could eat some flowers!” Audience member, the Children’s Wood
“I felt inspired to grow my own food at home.” P6/7 Pupil, Aultmore Park Primary
“It made me feel happy to see people care about our planet.” P6/7 Pupil, Aultmore Park Primary