A guest blog from Michael Hatfield
photo: Laurence Rose The RSPB Beckingham Marshes reserve on the River Trent commissioned Kerry Greenwood and the Kismet Theatre Company based in Gainsborough to create a theatrical performance to raise the profile of the site and let people know about what a great place they have on their doorstep. Marshsongs, written by local playwright Michael Hatfield is a journey through the history of the marshes. It will include scenes created by local community groups, inspired by their own visits to the site, as well as specially created visual arts, music, poetry and song.
NATURAL LIGHT asked author Michael Hatfield to share his experience of the project:
NATURAL LIGHT asked author Michael Hatfield to share his experience of the project:
Meeting one with Director Kerry Greenwood. A lovely meal, followed by a comprehensive destruction of every scene, every idea. There were funny scenes, clever ideas. But Kerry clearly identified the problem- it was a generic script, exploring different time periods and various animals and situations. But it wasn't rooted in truth. She gave me one principle to follow which made all the difference "Make it specific to the place. Make it true. Go back to how you felt when you visited the marshes"
When we visited the marshes, my first impression was of a big flat empty field. But as we walked around, I began to notice small things: frogs underfoot, hovering dragonflies, beautiful blue unnamed insects, lapwings flying overhead. And suddenly, I was lost in a world within our world. Here was a universe beneath our feet and over our heads. I loved the feeling that the world was shifting around me and growing wider and deeper by the second. I wanted to recapture that emotion- like falling into a microscope and feeling a tiny being in an infinite cosmos.
But a play has to be about stories and people. So the research began. Local history, websites, records, talking to local people. What was the story I wanted to tell? What needed to be told?
What struck me was that almost every story about the relationship between Man and Nature was about Mankind's destruction of the natural order. But here, here in Beckingham Marshes, the reverse is the case- the development of flood plains (to protect Mankind) had enabled the creation of a wetland reserve, bringing back ancient habitat and ancient animals. A true kind of symbiosis. Real progress.
The next meeting with Kerry was electric. We both knew we had found the key. Real history, combined with poetry and magic would create a timeless piece of drama. Time to get to work.
What struck me was that almost every story about the relationship between Man and Nature was about Mankind's destruction of the natural order. But here, here in Beckingham Marshes, the reverse is the case- the development of flood plains (to protect Mankind) had enabled the creation of a wetland reserve, bringing back ancient habitat and ancient animals. A true kind of symbiosis. Real progress.
The next meeting with Kerry was electric. We both knew we had found the key. Real history, combined with poetry and magic would create a timeless piece of drama. Time to get to work.
Daft Annie's speech reflected the way I felt that day in the marshes...
| We met to discuss what time periods would work best for an audience. Prehistoric, Vikings, Enclosures. Next Victorian Willow Working women, earthy, funny, but also touching. And a character, Daft Annie who doesn't respond to people but the natural world. Daft Annie's speech reflected the way I felt that day in the marshes... ANNIE: Lapwing flies, rolls and dives, splitting the sky in two. Slow wing flapping, too slow to keep them in the air. Looks black above and white below. Look closer, mother! Iridescent dark green and purple, shines above. The legs are pink. The under-tail is orange brown. A rainbow in a bird, a riot of colour. But you only see in black and white. |  photos: Ruth Pigott |
Curlews wade, mud-lovers, mud-hunters, searching, searching, spiked bills piercing the hot sticky ground. Scimitar carves the air. Worms wriggle in the air. He waddles off. Drumming, drumming, the snipe are drumming. Feathers humming. Show offs. It's the men. Always the men. Showing off. Fly high in the hand of God, then down, down to the ground. Wagtails, water pipits... The flash of yellow. Yellow hammer! Little bit of bread and no cheese. Little bit of bread and no cheese. Every song is different. Listen to the boys singing. Yellow breast and head of solid gold. Yellow hammer.
photo: Robin Booker Then the local Performing group PACS to represent the animals, then local writers and poets to have their poems read.
The second half moves into the Twentieth and twenty first century. In a swift succession of scenes we visit the Marshes in 1940, 1947, 1977, 2000 and 2007. We see the devastating impact of floods and storms over the years, and how Marsh Folk cope.
The second half moves into the Twentieth and twenty first century. In a swift succession of scenes we visit the Marshes in 1940, 1947, 1977, 2000 and 2007. We see the devastating impact of floods and storms over the years, and how Marsh Folk cope.
And finally, a reminder of the devastating impact destruction of habitat has on the natural world. We don't want the audience to be spared the realities. And then end with a joyous celebration of the renewed Marshes as a partnership between Man and Nature.
MARSH: Life is born, life ends. That’s the way of things. I don’t overcomplicate. The small things live in me, they grow. Look closely- you will see a world within the world. A daily struggle for survival.
The world of the insects, the microscopic world. You need to see with new eyes. Here’s warfare, kill or be killed. Progress.
Mankind builds. They make. They construct. And they call this progress. They build walls and fences, to close me in. They call this ownership.
That's the plan - a show that begins in prehistory and ends in 2014, a show that is specific to the history of people and places around Beckingham- but which touches on the transcendental and universal. A combination of music, movement, drama and poetry which might just make people feel the way I did, stood in a muddy field in silence, touching hands with the infinite.
MARSH: Life is born, life ends. That’s the way of things. I don’t overcomplicate. The small things live in me, they grow. Look closely- you will see a world within the world. A daily struggle for survival.
The world of the insects, the microscopic world. You need to see with new eyes. Here’s warfare, kill or be killed. Progress.
Mankind builds. They make. They construct. And they call this progress. They build walls and fences, to close me in. They call this ownership.
That's the plan - a show that begins in prehistory and ends in 2014, a show that is specific to the history of people and places around Beckingham- but which touches on the transcendental and universal. A combination of music, movement, drama and poetry which might just make people feel the way I did, stood in a muddy field in silence, touching hands with the infinite.
Michael Hatfield
Michael Hatfield is a local writer who has written adaptations of Mediaeval Mystery Plays, a seventh century Spanish drama, pantomimes, Youth Theatre plays, and song lyrics.
Michael Hatfield is a local writer who has written adaptations of Mediaeval Mystery Plays, a seventh century Spanish drama, pantomimes, Youth Theatre plays, and song lyrics.
Marshsongs will be performed on Friday and Saturday 19 and 20 September, 7.30 pm at Beckingham Village Hall, Notts and on Friday and Saturday 26 and 27 September, 7.30 pm at Gainsborough Old Hall, Lincs. Booking recommended 07756 500292
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