A Few Little Drops @ Volcano Theatre Company
By Paul Davies
A Few Little Drops: The Extraordinary Story of Water was a promenade performance produced by the Volcano Theatre Company, and sponsored by Dwr Cymru and The Environment Agency of Wales, involving 6 performers from a variety of disciplines (from dance to theatre to performance art). The central idea of the show was to let water “speak” in many different idioms. The work toured throughout Wales before appearing at the British Council Showcase in Edinburgh. It then toured to the Highlands and Islands festival in Inverness, Scotland, while also visiting locations abroad for workshops.
The show took place entirely outside, with the set initially being transported from one location to the next using an articulated truck. This meant that the predominantly wooden set became increasingly difficult to move and re-build, especially abroad. It was eventually decided to recycle the set and deliver the show without it. In this case however, removing the set was a considerable decision, as it was not merely a prop or an aesthetic backdrop, but in fact the building containing the performers and the audience. This required a redefinition of the production and its delivery to the audience. It also meant a great deal less freight and a significant cut in costs. Show publicity also raised questions about the impact of freight and flights considering the environmental theme, giving rise to the idea of also hiring local performers to deliver the material instead of touring performers from the U.K. Such an initiative would artistically tailor the work to the audience in each location, and also minimise costs and carbon emissions. This rationale gave rise to workshops based on the theme of water that took place in Vilnius, Lithuania, as well as in Doha, Qatar and Kuwait City, Kuwait. The idea was to see if performers in either of these cities would be interested in performing in a different way, engaging with the subject matter of water on their own terms, that related to their culture, environment and experiences. This experience enabled the production to grow artistically and build on the initial core ideas of the project.
What A Few Little Drops has shown is that when it comes to cultural exchanges that are embedded within a conceptual universe, the international transaction can be light on its feet with minimal flights and minimal freight if so desired. The rationale is that less emphasis is placed on logistics and more emphasis is placed on concepts, participation and knowledge exchange in touring locations. By re-configuring international exchange models, big changes can take place in the sector - changes that will demonstrate that there is both a serious commitment to the art and a serious determination to minimize its environmental impact while delivering it to as wide an audience as possible – an impact that all too frequently seems to be treated as an unavoidable outcome of touring endeavours.
