Timeline
The timeline for Octopus Story runs from February to November 2022 and includes a number of events and activities in which you can get involved. As and when activities are confirmed we will add further information and links to ticket bookings and other details.
Please use our contact page to get in touch for press and media packs, and sponsorship opportunities and to find out more about how to volunteer.
Spring 2022 – Portsmouth BOOKFEST
A Prophet for the Sea – Audio-Poems
Monday 21st February
Released online via Podbean and other podcasting platforms
The A Prophet for the Sea is a series of three audio-poems taken from Octopus Medicine a collection of verse-stories written by poet and performer Becci Louise. These podcasts explore our relationship to the marine environment and question the way in which humankind casts nature as monstrous at a time when our impact on the planet is increasingly threatening our own existence.
Octopus Medicine – Young Peoples Creative Writing Workshops
Tuesday 22nd – Friday 25th February
Portsmouth Libraries (various see Bookfest website for details)
Learn about the creatures that inhabit the seas surrounding Portsmouth with Becci Louise, author of Octopus Medicine, and find out what you can do to protect them. With poetry writing, art-making and exploration, these workshops are perfect for creative souls and budding environmentalists.
The Front Room presents Octopuses & Other Sea Creatures – 360° Deep
Wednesday 23rd February, 7-11 pm
The Kings, 9 Albert Rd, Southsea, Portsmouth, Southsea PO5 2SE
Join us on Wednesday, February 23rd when The Front Room will be presenting a thematic rendering of ‘Octopuses and other Sea Creatures’. An evening of spoken word, music, performance, and laughter. Expect shadows from the deep, sea shaped spoken words, and maritime musical musings.
Transmedia Storytelling for Writers with far too much Imagination!
Saturday 26th February, 10 am – 5 pm
Where: Room W1.08, Eldon Building, Winston Churchill Avenue, Portsmouth, PO1 2DJ
A practical, collaborative workshop for writers interested in exploring new and emerging forms of storytelling facilitated by story consultant Alison Norrington. This writer’s room experience will take you from idea to outline as your ideas come alive and you pour your imagination onto the page.
Summer 2022
The Pollution We Don’t See – Artists and Researchers in the Classroom
Summer term 2022
Portsmouth Schools
During the summer term of 2022, we will be placing artists and scientists together in local schools as ‘researchers in the classroom’ in collaboration with local artists to deliver creative making workshops about ‘the pollution we don’t see’.
World Ocean Day – exhibition & town hall debate
8th & 9th June
St Mary’s Church, Fratton, Portsmouth.
In celebration of World Ocean Day, we will be staging an exhibition of art made during our schools’ workshops as well as featuring the work of other artists. Plus we will be facilitating a public dialogue promoting environmental literacy and reflecting on Portsmouth’s historic relationship to the marine environment.
Devise and Create – immersive theatre workshop
18th & 19th or 25th & 26th June
TBC
If you are interested in immersive theatre, audiovisual arts, sonic arts, or scenography there may well be an opportunity to participate in one of many public workshops aimed at people with little or no experience in large scale community creativity. Join in and help us devise our final show as we start to create Octopuses & Other Sea Creatures.
Autumn 2022
Maker Factory – family-friendly creative workshops
24th-28th October (half-term)
TBC
During the October half term, we are planning to run a week-long maker factory inviting people to participate in our family-friendly scenography workshops creating sets, props, costumes and puppets for the finale. Plus an opportunity to take part in our opening ritual celebrations for the autumn equinox.
Octopuses & Other Sea Creatures – final performance
November 17th-19th 2022
Portsmouth Cathedral
For three nights in November 2022, we will be taking over Portsmouth Cathedral to stage a large-scale immersive theatre, audiovisual experience. A family-friendly adventure to inspire, shock and awe.