The Wild Hare and Spring Underwater
The Wild Hare gathers stories to tell Spring while she is sleeping, hoping she will dream and so be tempted awake to return colours to the world. Hare stands at the entrance to a bluebell wood welcoming us in. She shows us the path which leads from over here to over there. And there, not being here, could be anywhere.
If you haven’t guessed I went to Rogue Theatre this Easter weekend and was once again met by a world of wonder, as the King of the Wild welcomed us into a wood bedecked by light and colour. Since moving to Cornwall I have fallen in love with Rogue and their seasonal productions, their messages of wildness and natural splendour. They remind me of how to be free, how to have fun, how to embrace my inner and outer wildness. Even with all I do in my life and in my art the reminder is welcome, particularly as we come out of a dark and cold winter.
Rogue was bracketed by seagrass and van work. On the one side I spring cleaned, wiping away some of winters mud and making the van a more organised and welcoming space to keep building in. On the other side was a boat ride out to Drakes Island and the worlds coolest (and cutest) piece of equipment.
This incredible underwater remote-controlled submarine is hooked up to a laptop so that its internal camera gives one a view of the world beneath the waves. After Rich taught me to pilot the submarine, I got to drive it through the glory of a seagrass meadow, filming all we saw.
Much like the flowers above, seagrass is shaking off winter and growing new green leaves as spring awakens. It is interesting to start filming for The Seagrass Walk on the edge of winter, showing the cycle of the seagrass, a version of the seasons that we don’t usually get to see. I am hoping that by the time I have to stop filming and focus on editing the seagrass will have had a chance to become greener and greener. I’m looking forward to finding out what spring and early summer look like in a meadow under the sea.
I’m looking forward to finding out what the Wild Hare’s magic does to an underwater world I am only just getting to know.