About
The project is the brainchild of John Sackett a cultural events producer who is well known in the city. John was commissioned by The New Theatre Royal to create an event for an inaugural Festival of the Sea in 2019.
As the Producer of The Front Room, in addition to presenting monthly spoken word evenings, John had already started to present a series of one-off thematic events which encouraged writers, poets, musicians and filmmakers to work with a broader artistic framework.
John had seen Becci Louise present poetry from her Octopus Medicine anthology, which was partly inspired by H.P.Lovecraft’s ‘The Call of Cthulhu’ and felt both works could fit with a wider narrative that eventually spawned Octopuses and other Sea Creatures. Theatre Director Aaron Holdaway provided an edited narrative from ‘Cthulhu,’ and we weaved into this poetry from Becci, material from local poet Faye Smith and an original musical score from Rusty Sheriff. Musician Janet Ayres created a choral ‘Sound Bath’ piece which assisted in leading the audience on a journey from the arrival area to the main performance area. With dance choreographed by Helena Eflerová, the performance drew the audience into the story world taking them on a journey through spoken word, dance, music and theatre. While AV artist, Dr Lighthouse used wrap-around visual projections to create an immersive undersea environment. All in all, a multi-disciplinary performance experience of the kind for which the Front Room has earned a reputation.
The new project that will unfold throughout 2022, takes this original presentation as a starting point and returns to the original poems. Going back to a blank piece of paper allows the project to reimagine the work and to give space to voices from the community. To ask new questions about our relationship to the sea and to allow the people of Portsmouth to contribute to the devising of a new version of the story.
The Front Room presented the original production of Octopuses and other Sea Creatures on March 1st, 2019, at The Square Tower, Old Portsmouth, a stone’s throw from the mouth of Portsmouth Harbour.
Octopuses & Other Sea Creatures was inspired by the ‘Octopus Medicine‘ book of poems by Becci Louise.
An octopus who dreams of stars, a self-important fisherman who gets what’s coming to him, and a misunderstood monster, Octopus Medicine is an invitation to adventure for the misfits, the lonely, the outsiders. These three verse stories call us down into another world–the world of the octopus–where days are dark, everything is out to eat you and nothing is really what it seems. Written for young and old alike, this is a collection to be read at bedtime, to be acted out on playgrounds, to be shared with grandparents. In its mysterious way, the octopus has much to teach us.
Becci told us how she became part of Octopuses & Other Sea Creatures: I got involved with the project way back in 2019 after I was introduced to Roy and his team. I’d been involved in a smaller project in Portsmouth around a similar theme, and Roy wanted to make something bigger. My book, Octopus Medicine, was published in 2017 and I thought Roy’s vision for the project was exactly what I had wanted to achieve with the book, so I’m really excited to be part of Octopuses and Other Sea Creatures and bring the spirit of the Octopus back to Portsmouth.
Octopuses are amazing creatures. Masters of deception and disguise, highly intelligent with the capacity to problem solve, they’ve also been unfairly depicted in our stories. Typically, they’re the vicious gods of modern gothic fiction or the Kraken that signals the end of the world. We make them villains because they’re different from us.
But they adapt, and in adapting, they survive. I love the idea of the Octopus as a medicine animal that can teach us to be better. They can teach us to change, to find new ways to treat the natural world, to stop turning animals we don’t understand into monsters and start trying to understand them. Portsmouth has a strong connection with the sea, and the sea is one environment we need to treat better. I really hope this project helps bring the spirit of the Octopus to the whole city, and I’m excited to be a part of that.
Produced by 1000 Plateaus, a Portsmouth based collective of audio-visual artists and performers operating in the city since 2005.
1000 Plateaus has staged events in arts centres, galleries, bars and clubs drawing together anyone inspired by the potential for immersive live cinema performances that break down the barriers between forms, traditions and practices.
1000 Plateaus embraces the principles of radical inclusion, self-reliance, self-expression, community cooperation, gifting, de-commodification, and leaving no trace – and offers creatives an open platform for digital arts, performance and media, a temporary autonomous zone in which to play.
Octopuses & Other Sea Creatures is funded by the Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grants.