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After the Flood offers an example of the kind of larger-scale, outdoor work that Vesper Hill can develop, with a little working time. The piece can be updated and redeveloped to suit new locations.
This site-specific promenade performance was devised for the 2016 Leeds Waterfront Festival. It was made in response to the Boxing Day floods that had seriously affected Leeds and the wider Aire valley the previous Christmas. Spectators guided themselves on a looping walk around the city-centre junction of the River Aire and the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, encountering a series of performers along the way – each with a different story to tell.
After the Flood was developed from interviews with professionals working in the water engineering sector. The piece explores not only the impacts of flooding, but the question of what can be done to alleviate future flood risk. Through colourful characters and engaging visual aids, these questions are made entertaining and accessible, even for family audiences.
Note: the performance below was documented for video in September 2016, three months after the Waterfront Festival. This explains the curious lack of festival crowds, on an ordinary working Wednesday…
After the Flood is not currently available for one-off performances, as it demands rehearsal time with a multiple actors. However, it offers another example of the kind of work we can be commissioned to make.
After the Flood was originally co-produced by Multi-Story Water and Common Chorus Theatre, in association with Leeds Waterfront Festival, 2016.
Conceived and written by Steve Scott-Bottoms and Simon Brewis
Directed by Simon Brewis
Designed by Hannah Sibai
Performed by and co-devised with: Matthew Bellwood, Jake England-Johns, Kat Martin, Libby Wattis.
Guest performances by Nick DeJong, Pete Freeth, Joe Large
