As part of the MA Shakespeare and Creativity course, students had the opportunity to create a public event to explore how Shakespeare’s work could be used to address climate change and inspire positive change. Emma Moules writes about their experience creating Ophelia’s Frost Faire in Stratford-upon-Avon.
The project
As the culmination to our Shakespeare in Society module, we were given a brief by the RSC to explore the ways that Shakespeare or his work could be used to address the climate crisis whilst calling a community to action to create positive change. We knew this would be no easy task, so began to brainstorm ideas about what values were important to us. It became clear very early on that we wanted to explore the idea of radical hope whilst leaving a legacy for our project.
I wanted to explore how we could involve the community in a way that would leave a legacy for them. I had experience working with community groups previously, so I was thrilled when I could utilise these skills to enhance our project by inviting them to join us on the day.
We knew we’d be creating a civic event but we wanted it to feel special to Stratford-Upon-Avon. In one of our Thursday seminars at The Institute, we were inspired by a talk from Dr Ben Higgins and his research into Early Modern Frost Fairs and from researching further, we found an abundance of references in Shakespeare’s work about the climate. This research then became the basis of our piece, Ophelia’s Frost Faire – an interactive exhibition.
Working with the RSC
As part of the module, we had sessions facilitated by the RSC. I was moved by Elizabeth Richards and her work with Creative Placemaking and Public Programmes in the RSC. It was inspirational hearing how her and her team would put together a project from conception to showcasing it to the public. Each facilitated session with the RSC taught us something new. We learnt about the importance of civic events, how to evaluate a project’s success, how to create a risk assessment and insight on how to market events to the public.
One of our biggest challenges was where we would host our event. Thankfully, the RSC were kind enough to offer us space at The Other Place during one of their Warm Hub events. They were a constant source of support for us throughout the project and something I am ever grateful for.
The Day
From all the critical theory we had learnt, the thing that stood out to me was the importance of inspiring the next generation. A fellow student and myself produced the Crafting Station, consisting of making nature crowns and clay decorations, both inspired by Shakespeare’s references to these in King Lear. Visitors could then take these home as a memento.
It was wonderful seeing people of all ages get stuck in throughout the day. The four local environmental groups I had invited had their own stalls to promote their work, we had a nature walk around the RSC gardens, a timeline of environmental events from Shakespeare’s birth to the present day and even a printing press station, true to the original frost fairs.
Within the group we created everything from the costumes to the website. My highlight of the project was being able to talk to the public and hear their stories on the day. I spoke to one lady who had been raising awareness of climate change since the 1970s and still continues to this day, hopefully we’ve left a legacy for some of the young people who attended to do the same.