SMALL ACTS: FIELD DAY

One day, one field, many plots. Site-specific performance celebrating a 10 acre haven for people, plants and food on the edge of Penryn.

In 1863 Murrays Handbook of Devon & Cornwall describes Penryn as “a warm sheltered valley, richly fertile, and particularly productive in early vegetables.”

In 2020 Falmouth Food Cooperative secure a lease on a former arable field edging the Penryn river. A team of volunteers set about transforming it into a beacon of sustainable food production designed to bring people together to learn new skills, breathe fresh air, meet new people and reconnect with nature. Located at the beginning of Love Lane, they call the field Loveland.

In 2022 Field Day takes you on an immersive journey through Loveland. Discover small acts of food resilience, nestling amongst the grass, trees and earth. Listen to stories of Penryn’s relationship with food in the past, and explore hopes and fears for where food will come from in the future. Journey through seasonal cycles, growing cycles, life cycles. Encounter songs, herbs, trees, vegetables, gardeners and grains. Then plant yourself at the table for a lunch made from deliciously fresh Loveland produce.

Field Day is a new site-specific performance by Small Acts created in collaboration with Loveland’s volunteers and HUM choir. This commission is funded by the Outdoor Cultures strand for the Creative Peninsula network, led by the University of Exeter and funded by UKRI. The network has been established to explore collaborative approaches to place-making and culture-led regeneration in Devon and Cornwall.

Small Acts create live, participatory artworks and performances that explore the relationships between people and places. Lead artists Katie Etheridge & Simon Persighetti are interested in the meeting point between community, place and performance. From pop-up-pubs to market stalls, site-specific tattoo parlours to live theatre, the form of their work is responsive to, and embedded in the heart of its subject.

Please click the Eventbrite booking link for further information, access and what to expect on the day.