I spent most of last week in three different tents around Cornwall, and I didn’t go camping. Tents come in all shapes and sizes, can be pitched anywhere from Everest to the Sahara. Usually, one spends time in tents on camping trips. Instead, my tent time focused on theatrical events. My three theatrical tent activities took place at Morval with 160 people, at Upton Cross with 200 and Polzeath with 350 people.
This year Grace Community Church in Morval, near Looe held its eighth annual family Bible camp. Over 500 people from Hawaii to Scorrier enjoyed a week of free camping and events held in three large tents. I was part of a team of 40 volunteers helping run morning activities for 120 children aged 4-11. In the children’s tent, we enjoyed games, puppet shows, crafts, drama, and Biblical storytelling sessions on the Book of Esther.
Biblical storytelling is a discipline in which the storyteller takes a passage from the Bible, and tells it in a way that the hearers may best connect with the story. The storyteller does this by learning the words by heart and acting out the story whilst telling it. I was one of four storytellers, organized by my wife, who performed for the children in the morning and adults in the evening. My wife, who learned three chapters by heart, received loads of positive comments about how the storytelling really brought new life to the words of the Bible. I used a scroll with my chapters during my session – my storytelling was not as effective. Try to imagine an actor constantly referring to a script while performing Shakespeare – I will memorize and internalize next year.
However, I did learn my four lines and two songs for Peter Pan at Sterts. Sorry, I am a little old to play Peter Pan. Instead, I wear black nail polish, an eye patch and swing my cutlass around as a pirate. Sterts Theatre in Upton Cross, seating 400, is a ‘canopied performance space’ in a beautiful natural setting on Bodmin Moor. Put on by a semi-professional company, the production of Peter Pan is excellent fun. Come and see Hook and Pan do battle, and I will act the scary pirate. We only had about 200 last Monday and Tuesday – we need a bigger audience! Guaranteed fun for all the family, the show runs until the 3rd of September - tickets are usually available on the night but you can book online also.
Book tickets now for the theatrical event of the summer in Polzeath - “Sorry!” performed by the infamous Footsbarn Theatre. The Footsbarn tent hosted about 350 for opening night last Saturday but holds 600. In this wild outing, Footsbarn teamed up with Pierre Byland and Cirque Werdyn, a gypsy horse circus, to bring you a night of unexpected madness and mayhem. Forever breaching the boundaries of theatre, Footsbarn have outdone themselves once again. Not the typical linear story, the drama and humour of “Sorry!” hinges on the double-booked escapade of a funeral party and a wedding celebration in the same place. Whether you’re seated on the wedding or funeral side, determined by a playing card entry ticket, the show is nothing short of theatre magic. Nobody does theatre like Footsbarn - nobody! Come and be a part of “Sorry!” doing battle until 14th August at Carruan Farm.
Andy Goldsworthy once said, “There is a palpable, critical energy created by the presence of the audience.” Don’t miss your chance to be part of the audience energy this summer – I’ll see you in a tent somewhere in Cornwall.
