Ours was the Fen Country takes as its inspiration the stark and beautiful landscape of the Fens in East Anglia.
Over the past two years Dan has been travelling through the Fens spending time with people who live and work there and recording stories and conversations. Over time, the focus of the research has led him to seek out those who are rare and uncommon – whose way of life is under threat. He has spoken with eel-catchers, farmers, parish councillors, museum keepers, molly dancers and conservationists.
‘It’s as if the deep, wise old roots of the earth are talking. A moving, rich and resonant piece of work’ Venue Magazine
It is these recordings and this landscape that form the bedrock of Ours Was The Fen Country. This moving and visceral ensemble dance theatre piece fuses powerful movement language, sound design, projection and spoken word to conjure the beauty and bleakness of a rural landscape through the memories and experiences of the people who live there. Ours was the Fen Country is located in the heart of the Fens but many of the reflections and contributions touch on wider themes of change, impermanence and loss that transcend the particularities of this singular landscape.
The Ours Was The Fen Country ensemble are a company of world-class artists who specialise in movement and devised performance and who together amplify the lyrical delicacy of this verbatim material with extraordinary physical rigour and style.
Through his company Still House, Dan Canham is developing a portfolio of visually poetic work within a variety of forms that includes dance-theatre, short film and audio-visual installation. Dan is Artistic Director and chief investigator of Still House and he works collaboratively with a diverse range of practitioners in both his solo and ensemble output. He has previously worked as performer with DV8 Physical Theatre (To Be Straight With You – National Theatre), Kneehigh (Brief Encounter, A Matter of Life and Death, Tristan & Yseult, The Bacchae), Punchdrunk (Faust) and Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre (Rite of Spring – Coliseum) among others. He recently collaborated with Tassos Stevens of Coney on RSVP and The Adventure Principle. His first piece 30 Cecil Street was met with considerable acclaim and continues to tour internationally.
‘Whatever it is that makes you want to watch somebody move, he’s got it’ Donald Hutera London Dance
Ours Was The Fen Country has been selected for Escalator East To Edinburgh. Each year Escalator East to Edinburgh helps artists and arts organisations to raise their profile and perform to new audiences as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It is Commissioned by Bristol Ferment, New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich and DanceXchange and produced by MAYK.
Ours Was The Fen Country will run at the National Theatre 16-18 September as part of Limited Editions, short runs from exciting new theatre makers in The Shed
Submitted by Simon Franklin
