Guest blog: Burn the Curtain working with Exeter communities

If there's one thing a community and outdoor theatre company loves and needs it is green space, and Exeter is fortunate to have a great variety of beautiful green spaces within the heart of the city – the opportunity for an adventure is never very far away at all.

Burn the Curtain believe that any space can be magical, and that any one of us can create magic moments, and this is what ‘The Imaginarium of Us’ did last year.  Now we’re thrilled to be able to continue that work, building upon those magic moments and creating new ones with the local communities around Exeter.

In the last couple of years, many of us came to realise how vital our local parks are for our mental and physical wellbeing.  This year, in partnership with Live and Move Exeter we are working in three - Mincinglake, Ludwell and Riverside, where we will be further exploring our love of combining both physical activity and creativity on the Green Circle.  Whether you just want to get out of the house, walk the dog, have a picnic or fly a kite, the opportunity to be able to access such diverse places is of enormous physical and mental benefit.  Hopefully through our work, one day you may decide to venture off the path ever so slightly into that clearing in the trees, or perhaps turn right where you usually turn left and discover a completely different area of the park.

The ‘Imaginarium of Us’ is a celebration of these spaces. An outdoor performing museum with exhibits influenced by its surroundings, you, your history and your stories. We want to reshape the idea of what a 'museum' is, who it is for, and who it is about.

Poster by Sue Gent

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We also want it to be something that the local community has shaped. 

To do that we’ve been working with four local artists from a variety of different disciplines – challenging them to respond to one of four themes (Natural World, History, Youth and Hidden Stories) as they create their exhibits.  Artists like Just Sewn Stories, who work with text and textiles, to make connections between and within communities, and Peter Margerum ,whose sculpture workshops enable participants to create artworks from a wide selection of recycled plastic, wooden and metal materials.  These four artists have each lead free workshops this summer with the community, so it’s been a collaborative project and everyone who’s attended a workshop has contributed to building the Imaginarium before it opens its doors in September. 

We'd love it if you could join us, experience your park in a different way and celebrate collective creativity.  Think of it as a kind of walking museum where you’ll be guided by ethereal ‘Curiositors’ on a magical walk through participatory exhibits, strange machines, ghostly voices and bizarre objects.  Get your tickets here for performances of the Imaginarium are on 16th, 17th, 23rd, 24th, 30th September, and 1st October.

More information can be found on our social platforms; Facebook @burnthecurtain, Instagram @burnthecurtain and Twitter @BurntheCurtain and our website burnthecurtain.co.uk

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Written by Burn the Curtain's co-creator Alexander Warn