This piece was created, written and performed by The Elders in collaboration with the creative team.
‘a third of an inch per second’ refers to the speed at which the messages move through the mycelium between trees. Slowly but steadily just as we worked on this project since from late 2021 to mid 2023.
The Elders, I and our creative team researched the interconnectedness and entanglement between the forest, between all of nature and most of all between humans and nature. We were curious as to what we could learn from the way the forest community works. Trees look after each other, they know that for each of them to thrive they need to work together. They send water to thirsty friends, they warn of danger, when they die they release all of their nutrients to the rest of forest. They even keep stumps alive and these in turn host a whole range of diverse life. Suzanne Simard’s book ‘Finding the Mother Tree’ was a great source of inspiration for us as was Peter Wohelleben’s ‘The Secret Life of Trees’ among a stack of other forest science and folklore.
Funded by Arts Council Ireland we had the opportunity to develop creative responses to these themes which inevitably led to exploring the climate crisis. As complex and multi-layered as this is we had a wealth of material of which we chose some to thread together and perform in the forest. We were obsessed and we loved it, we don’t have answers only to listen and be awed by what is around you and we hope we can inspire that awe for the gorgeous and intelligent trees that cover our planet in others too.
The performance took place in Killruddery Gardens over three evenings in mid-June 2023. The audience weaved their way around the forest in three groups, experiencing episodes of our story in different parts of the forest around our chosen trees. The show was completely sold out.
Performers :
Aileen O’Connor - May
Brendan Supple - Tree
Lucille McDonald - Activist
Nuala O’Connor - Developer
Eithne Casey - Dyrad
Maureen Shakespeare Cottage owner
David Ingoldsby - Chairman of the Resident’s Association
Eimear Berry - Rewilder
Joni Scott-Mulcahy - Child
Other creators:
Andrew Parkes
Margaret Casey
Shabnam Vashist
Ted Morrissey
Creative and Production Team
Andrea Scott - Director
Julia Benedict - Site & Costume Designer
Marc Aubele - Sound Designer
Conleth White - Lighting Designer
Tamsyn Speight - Visual Artist
Trevor Furlong - Graphic Artist
Emma Bennet - Dramaturg
Clara Mallon - Assistant Director
Killian Kirwan - Assistant Director
Laura Larkin - Marketing Manager
Dominic Campbell - Advisor
Emma Baker - Production Manager