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Temper Theatre returns with tales of the Fens




Temper Theatre returns home to Cambridgeshire with its latest production following a run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Home was inspired by the marshlands of the Fens, looking at our relationship with lost lands, and drawing from the personal experiences of company artistic director and Ely-born theatre-maker Finn Morrell.

Home. Picture: Temper Theatre
Home. Picture: Temper Theatre

The show presents an exploration of memory, parenthood and climate change, using Temper Theatre’s signature combination of physical movement and innovative staging.

Founded in Cambridge 10 years ago, Temper Theatre’s return mirrors the journey of the central character Imogen who travels through memories and marshes back to her childhood home.

Home explores the beauty and hope that lies beyond the tangled recollections of our pasts, confronting vivid visions of a haunted bygone wilderness.

Home. Picture: Temper Theatre
Home. Picture: Temper Theatre
Home. Picture: Temper Theatre
Home. Picture: Temper Theatre

Addressing environmental issues and climate change, the piece uses the at-risk landscape of East Anglia’s Fenlands as a foundation for this journey battling the elements and time.

Drained centuries ago, and now an agricultural region rich with varied ecosystems, these lands face a monumental risk of flooding.

Returning to his childhood home in East Anglia, Finn found his own relationship with the transformative lands a profound inspiration for Home and also the strength in reconnecting with your roots.

Temper Theatre’s revolving sets, inventive staging and cinematic techniques pull audiences into a journey of hope and resilience, as well as a physical expedition through marshes and lands.

With original music composed by Dave Price (National Theatre, RSC, Gecko), this production highlights the complex emotions that arise when you find your way back home.

Finn said: “It wasn’t until my family home was about to disappear from my life forever that I recognised the fundamental impact my home had on me.

“The Fens were a boring dead-end swamp – a trap to escape from at the first possible opportunity. But as I travelled home to help my parents move house, I was struck by a surprising series of emotions which led me to create Home.

“As I travelled, the boring flat Fenland became the extraordinary waterland it once was, my community morphed into an ancient tribe of storytellers, the rivers filled with eels and the epic East Anglian skies illuminated a wealth of history long forgotten.”

The team behind the production has been supported by the British Council’s Connections Through Culture programme as well as Fenland Councils Culture Fund, and reviews for Home have been positive.

“Coraline meets Alice in Wonderland, with a hint of darkness”, wrote Edinburgh Festivals Magazine, while Theatre Weekly said: “This devastatingly beautiful story is told through the most intricately choreographed (Chris Evans) blend of dance and physical theatre”.

Home. Picture: Temper Theatre
Home. Picture: Temper Theatre

Home will be performed both in Ely, at Babylon Arts on January 23, and in Cambridge, at The Robinson Theatre, at Hills Road Sixth Form College, on January 25.

Tickets for Ely, priced £12 for adults (£7 concessions, £5 for Cambridgeshire Deaf Association members), are available from bit.ly/3S1Uyhp. Tickets for Cambridge, also £12 for adults, are available at bit.ly/4aL19nC.



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