Uprooted – Eco Drama

“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

Educative and sustainable children performance created by Eco Drama & The Living Stage, Uprooted combines ecological practices with theatre design.

Tanja Beer designed the show with reclaimed objects, that were found during local shopping trips and that the actors and director could devise a story from. It was quite different from the traditional ways of designing from a model box. The ‘zero-waste’ set and its  re-purpose to create a permanent art installation in one of the schools is quite impressing. It lets the children appreciate the life cycle of the plants and also to avoid another theatre set being forgotten in storage.

Mona created the planted living hats for the performance which everyone was excited about. The biggest challenge was to keep the plants stable and lively enough for each show.

When the show was ready to go on the road, Mona jumped at the offer of being the project’s stage manager. She wasn’t ready to let go!

Performed around Glasgow Schools

Director: Emily Reid
Designer: Tanja Beer
Ast Designer & Stage Manager: Mona Kastell
Permaculturist: Katie Lambert
Performers: Caroline Mathison, Greg Sinclair & Marta Masiero
Ast touring stage manager: Ryan Blincow
Filmmaker: Mike Rea
Photography: Mona Kastell unless otherwise stated