New Beginning-a collective breath for our future planet at the Queen’s Theatre,Hornchurch.

On Tuesday 30 August the Queen’s Theatre will be featuring ‘New Beginning’ by local artist David Shearing.

Climate activist Ruth Kettle Frisby spoke with David about his incredible new creation.

Romford-born artist, David Shearing, has won multiple awards, and has become known for creating immersive installations that push artistic boundaries. As audience members in Shearing’s works, we are often invited to participate in delightfully multisensory experiences as we engage with our shared natural environment from surprising new perspectives.  Shearing’s art brings with it a much-needed sense of community, belonging and interconnectedness to the art world, and New Beginning at Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch, is his latest collaborative offering with Variable Matter.

I join other Havering residents in looking forward to this exciting new play, David. 

What is the concept behind New Beginning?

The essence of the show delves into the mysterious realm of forests, delving into both the concealed depths beneath the earth and the towering heights of tree canopies. To achieve this, state-of-the-art technologies such as immersive sound design across a 41-channel speaker array, multi-screen video projections, and digital video art by the design studio Lab-meta are utilised to unveil the hidden parts of nature and craft a mesmerising spectacle.

And what was the inspiration behind the play? 

The project explores our climate and natural world, with an emphasis on renewal, hope, and the power of creative imagination to inspire novel perspectives and responses to the challenges we face. The production takes on a quality akin to a nature documentary, enchanting, contemplative, and enlightening.

Some of us here in Havering have followed your career from The Rising Sun (2022) through to The People’s Kitchen (2023), and immersive, sensory, inclusive audience engagement have been key features of your work.  What can we expect in terms of what it might feel like to be in the audience of New Beginning?

In some respects, I envision it to be as invigorating and inspiring as a stroll through a forest! Our intention has not been to replicate nature, but rather to transport the audience into an experience that evokes its essence and otherworldliness. I want the audience to feel connected and engrossed, all while safely in their theatre seats. New Beginning will offer a sense of meditation, wonder, and at times, splendour.

Can you tell us about the role of young people in the creation of New Beginning?

My work consistently centres around people, and for this venture, we engaged with 206 remarkable young individuals through workshops with Little Ilford School and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch Youth Theatre. Their ideas were then shared with our writer, Zakiya McKenzie, who translated them into an initial script draft. We returned to the young participants, who further developed these textual concepts through physical expressions encompassing movement sequences, still imagery, and spoken word. Ultimately, 20 young individuals lend their voices to the performance.

I think that the arts have a unique advantage when it comes to conveying difficult truths in fresh and enlightening ways.  How important is climate change to the message of New Beginning, and do you believe that theatre can play a role in bringing people together to make positive change?

I agree, the commonly cited “climate crisis” is more aptly described as a “crisis of imagination,” as suggested by writer and anthropologist Amitav Ghosh. I believe that art and culture provide the creative means to envision the world anew. New Beginning beckons us to contemplate the world a 1000years in the future, while equipping us with tools to reconsider the steps necessary to restore our world. Ultimately, much like the most impactful theatre, it narrates a profoundly human tale, articulated through the voices of young individuals; it’s not solely a story about the climate crisis, but a story about us.

Your work is often described as being ‘innovative’, and the collaborative nature of New Beginning with Variable Matter has allowed you to redefine our understanding of theatre altogether.  Can you tell us more about risk-taking in this ground-breaking new play?

I often refer to my work as design-led, implying that all elements, encompassing light, sound, text, and projections, are developed in tandem, culminating in a total theatrical experience. Lab-meta, known for their digital art for the likes of the Chemical Brothers, has contributed digital art that plunges us into the concealed realms of our world. Our methodology, including our collaboration with 206 young individuals in shaping the production, introduces an element of uncertainty in how the project unfolds. New Beginning stands as our most ambitious creation to date, underpinned by our belief in discovering innovative methods of storytelling that resonate with our times, engage new audiences, and prompt regular theatre-goers to ponder the expansive potential of theatre.

What would you like your audience members to take away with them having experienced New Beginning?

I hope that audiences depart with a sense of embarking on a unique journey, moved by our narrative of self-renewal. Our young ensemble presents a genuinely profound perspective on our world, and I hope that people will also take a leap of faith with us, embracing something a touch out of the ordinary. 

Can we look forward to other collaborative works from you, Variable Matter, Queen’s Theatre and Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in the future? 

Collaboration stands at the heart of our work, and we are already devising strategies to continue interlinking our efforts across the borough. This involves celebrating all our towns and villages whilst of course championing the spirit of Havering.

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