Seedling is coming back!

It’s been a busy few months at Carbon Theatre and as we begin another exciting new project, we thought it would be nice to hear from our founder and director Courtenay Johnson about what Carbon Theatre has been upto recently, and what you can expect from the Seedling project, and the company this year!

1) What has Carbon Theatre been upto in the latter half of 2023?

For the last 6-7 months, we've been in planning and fundraising mode - but hopefully have some exciting announcements we can share soon! Some projects and shows are coming back and some brand new collaborations and ideas are turning into projects which is very exciting. 

2) What are the plans for 2024?

Seedling is our big project for the next 18 months so it's one of the longest ones we've embarked on. The first stage in creating a new audio piece with over 50 young people aged 7-9 from Cottesmore Academy in Rutland. This audio piece will then be shared in two installations in Northampton and Corby with the original Seedling audio by Helen Crevel that we first shared in 2021 and took to Budapest in May last year. After these public outings, the new audio piece will tour to primary schools in 2024-25.

We have literally just secured funding for a tour in Autumn of this year and I'm absolutely buzzing to work on this show. Announcement will be just before Summer!

Sadly, we've also had to cancel some projects and tours due to funding disappointments so re-grouping and re-submitting is on the cards as well for this year!

3) What is the Seedling project about?

Seedling is essentially about our families and our planet - reconnecting with each other and with nature. We are exploring the climate crisis with a focus on our own family stories, migrations and cultures and how the crisis affects the world we live in through different generations. Everything is so interconnected so there are many themes sparkling out of this core theme and core questions! And of course, these ideas are evolving every day as we work with our two classes of young people to develop a new creation - it's brilliant to be able to create something with so many voices and collaborators!

4) Why are you passionate about this project?

At its core, this is a beautiful project that centres our home, our family and our connection with nature. How we present it as well, in shopping centres, means that we can invite anybody in and surprise people who may not have come looking for us! And this time around, we are able to do so much more.  

I'm thrilled to be bringing back the team and expanding the team with lots of new creatives (including over 50 young people!). The first time we shared Seedling in 2021, it connected and resonated with so many people we spoke to that 8 days didn't feel like enough time - and we were so eager to create a piece for younger audiences. But post-COVID business and the long fundraising road meant it's been a long long while since then so I'm delighted it's finally happening. We also wanted to collaborate with local people to explore the breadth of cultures and family heritages we have in our towns through the textile sessions - in 2021 we had an idea to create squares inspired by the team's heritage but it feels like such a privilege to open this out and invite more people to share and be creative with us.

If you’d like to know more about the Seedling project, then visit our project page.