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“Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia, and therefore I forbid my tears.”
Laertes, in Shakespeare’s Hamlet
This intimate storytelling show explores the human impacts of flooding on ordinary people living in an ordinary town – and their struggles to remain resilient. It tells the story of the devastating floods that hit Shipley, West Yorkshire, on Boxing Day, 2015, and of the difficult aftermath.
The present-tense narrative is based on personal interviews with residents and business-owners who were directly affected. Simple props and a bolt of blue cloth are used to map out the River Aire and its surroundings, and to show what happened when the river burst its banks…
Too Much of Water takes about 35 minutes to perform, and always prompts much discussion in Q&A talk-backs afterwards. A participatory workshop that accompanies the show can be used to explore similar stories shared by audience members, in a safe and supportive way.
Too Much of Water was originally was commissioned for performance at the Saltaire Festival, in September 2016. It was presented outdoors, in an area of Roberts Park that had been underwater the previous December. Since then, the piece has been widely performed – for professional audiences ranging from insurance agents to flood risk managers, and in community contexts ranging from a Women’s Institute to a Working Men’s Club.
Please note: The film version pasted in above, shot in 2017, should be treated as archival documentation only. The piece is most impactful when seen live.
Too Much of Water (2016):
Written and performed by Steve Scott-Bottoms.
With directorial input from Simon Brewis.
