How do we tell stories with the land?
Writer Anders Lustgarten and wild storyteller Sophie Austin led this 15-hour endurance-based creative process, drawing inspiration from the landscape and those who have lived and worked on the shore. Poetry, story, and performance became tools for reimagining the past, present, and future of this extraordinary coastline.
Throughout the day we learned about historical figures and events that have shaped this land, from the lighthouse keepers, artists, smugglers and poets, to the impacts of wars and climate change. As the day dawned and the sun and wind tracked our progress, we developed stories, songs and creative offerings dedicated to the land and its former and future inhabitants.
A digital artwork inspired by this epic day is currently being created in collaboration with Anders, Mike Davies, Isa Suarez and Ali Pretty.
This project has been commissioned for Beach of Dreams, by Kinetika with the support of Arts Council England.
About Anders:
Anders Lustgarten has been described in the British press as ‘our most exciting political playwright’. He has produced some 16 original or adapted plays. His play, Lampedusa, is the definitive story of the refugee crisis and has been performed in forty countries. His plays have been performed by the RSC, Salisbury Playhouse, Finborough Theatre and Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.
His first novel, Three Burials, has just been published by Penguin. It is set in Hastings where he lives. His second, Kill Billionaire, has just been dispatched to the publisher.