RADSTOCK FAYRE 2023

The Natural Theatre Company returned to St Nicholas Church Field on Sunday 4th June for Radstock Fayre 2023 – another fun, family day full of theatrical acts, local stalls, food and have a go creative workshops.

The day included the Midsomer Norton and Radstock Silver Band, The Radstock Community Stage featuring Martyn Plant, Liam Kirby, Joel Chalk and others, The Wave by Calf 2 Cow, The Visionary by Jon Hicks, walkabout performance from The Natural Theatre Company and Curious Company, interactive workshops with: Edwina Bridgeman, EcoWild, Youth Connect South West, Chat-e-Cycle,  Snap & Stroll and Active Way and Radstock Museum. 

Plus stalls from: Radstock in Bloom, Sustrans, Somer Valley Rediscovered, Avon Wildlife Trust, Root Connections, The Radstock Knitters, Thompsons Hardware and BathMind.

Film of the day to come…

HIDDEN HEROES

This is a National Lottery Heritage Fund supported project celebrating the untold stories of residents from the South of Bath and North of Bristol, past and present. 

Our Bath Hidden Heroes event took place on October 27th 2022, at Bath City Farm. It was a roaring success, bringing the lives of heroes from Foxhill, Southdown, Odd Down and Twerton to life for audiences of every age. Check out the video of the day here.

Our Bristol celebration event took place on Saturday 15th April 2023 at Filton Community Garden. The sun was shining, and we were joined by Bristol Archives, YTL, Filton Community Garden members, the Filton Pollinator Project, and local charity FACE, to celebrate our 5 historic heroes. We had an amazing time meeting Filtonians and people from the wider Bristol area, encouraging them to get involved with local history, interactive theatre and crafting activities.

Check out our Hidden Heroes page for more info. 

RADSTOCK JUBILEE 2022

In June 2022, the Natural Theatre Company, in collaboration with Creativity Works, brought the Radstock Jubilee Festival to St Nicholas’ Church Field.

Our wonderful interactive performers entertained throughout the day, joined by Mr & Mr Burn and the Iguanodon Restaurant, as well as Treemendous and Silent Hobo.

Check out the film of the day above. 

UNHEARD VOICES

This project engaged local BANES communities to celebrate stories from protected groups which culminated in a professional live performance by the Natural Theatre Company (professional performers, and participants from our Adult Theatre School), to bring alive stories from local people who have migrated to the area.

Post-Covid, there has been interest in moving to Bath from larger cities or from the countryside. Bath’s history often focuses on Georgians and Romans, but there are many other stories from incoming minority groups that remain untold; this project gave voice to some of these migrants.

LOOKING AFTER NO. 1: 250 YEARS OF THE ROYAL CRESCENT

The celebration of 250 years of the Royal Crescent had been troubled, by many groups with strong but disparate visions.  For this project we pulled together a number of interested parties to develop a community celebration and three immersive performances in the crescent (one in pouring rain!).

Working with members of the community through regular workshops, we took a ‘behind the scenes’ look at the history by exploring the stories of the builders and stone masons as well as the celebrating the lives of the staff ‘below stairs’.

Collaboratory Partners: Bath Preservation Trust, Bath Heritage Services, Bath Fringe Festival, B&NES, Natural Theatre School

DHI (DEVELOPING HEALTH & INDEPENDENCE)

We worked with DHI on a range of projects over many years. DHI supports disadvantaged people and those who need help to live independently.  The “Out Of The Shadows” immersive performance in the streets of Bath worked with many of DHI’s clients as well as local artists and performance groups.  The event explored the history of poverty in the City of Bath.

In the following years we have developed two touring live immersive show for schools & colleges across Bath and Wiltshire and ran workshops for DHI clients and their families. We finished a new project with DHI about drug use, which was filmed and used as digital media due to the pandemic. The films wrapped in 2021, and are now being used in schools and educational settings to aid drug awareness. 

Collaboratory Partners: Theatre Royal Bath, St John’s Ambulance, Wiltshire County Council, B&NES, Bath Fringe Festival

ROADS TO RECOVERY

For this Heritage Lottery funded project, the Naturals worked with young people to learn about and celebrate the history of Bath’s field hospitals. Intense research with Bath Records office and Wiltshire History Centre unearthed unheard stories of soldiers and medics from the local area.  From these, characters were created, costumes made, and scenarios devised. 

This led to an immersive historical re-enactment of a WW1 field hospital in Bath’s Queen Square and again as a town hospital in Corsham Town Hall.

See a short video of one of the project’s community days here. 

Collaboratory Partners: Heritage Lottery Fund, Bath Records Office, Wiltshire History Centre, Bath Events Team, Corsham Town Hall, The Pound Corsham, Local schools/colleges & youth groups, BRSLI, RUH, Bath City Farm, Louise Jordan 243 Wessex Field Hospital Corps

SOMER VALLEY ARTS

This two year project saw the Naturals take Arts to the people of Somer Valley on a scale never seen before in the area. In Radstock, Midsomer-Norton, Westfield, and Paulton we offered opportunities to explore ideas through music, dance, visual art, craft, writing, and performance. The culmination was ‘Somer Valley Arts Day’ (we like to think it was a mini-Glastonbury Festival!) that brought the whole community together in one epic celebratory day of arts and celebration of the area’s history.  We are hoping to return to the area after the pandemic has passed!

Collaboratory Partners: Radstock Sliver Band, Bath Fringe Festival, Local Artists (Edwina Bridgeman, Dora, Rose Popay, City of Bath College, Dragonbird Theatre Company, Radstock Museum, Bedlam Fair, B&NES Youth Connect