#FeralTales

An otherworldly collection of digital performances born of a unique period of forced isolation in a time of national upheaval.

Background 

Back in March the creative industries were hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis and ensuing lockdown in the UK, with arts spaces, workshops and theatres forced to shutter and productions put on indefinite hiatus. 

In the midst of the chaos, Arts Council England offered a lifeline to organisations and individuals in need of immediate support through the launch of their emergency response fund.  

As grateful recipients of emergency funding, we at Feral Productions have been hard at work on one of the more unusual projects in our history and are pleased to announce the impending release of Feral Tales, a unique, new digital theatre production.

The Process

Emerging directly from the crisis, our aim was to create work that would serve the Herefordshire community and also reach far and wide via digital means. We wanted to enable connectedness and provided a conduit to creative expression during this difficult period of isolation.

In partnership with our friends at The Courtyard, Hereford’s Centre for the Arts, we issued a public call for creative submissions drawing on emotional responses to Lockdown from members of the community.

Under the banner of ‘Isolation Creations’, our call for photos, songs, short stories, paintings, poems and scripts resulted in a raft of cross-artform submissions received and subsequently shared across social media.

Three pieces of particular historical and geographical significance were then selected and have been developed into digital theatre pieces that we are delighted and excited to share with you as Feral Tales.

Feral Tales

From two video submissions and one poem, the three tales are interconnected through themes of death, portent and a flavour of the supernatural. 

Set in three atmospheric locations found in Hereford city, the rural Golden Valley and the market town of Ledbury, the pieces reflect genuine historical experiences of past residents from each building. Their experiences have parallels with modern lockdown life — be it restriction, illness or apprehension — and the characters’ inner voices pertain to feelings of their worlds’ colliding with that of the afterlife.

Written and developed by Estelle van Warmelo and Feral writer-in-residence, Sara-Jane Arbury, The Tale of White Cottage, The Tale of Meadow House and The Tale of Butcher’s Alley were shot in September and released as digital video productions in early October 2020