Triptych

“We had always devised as a tight ensemble,” says Persephone Pearl who co-founded Feral Theatre in 2007.

“It felt natural for us to work on something of our own developmentally – it felt like it was the right moment.”

Triptych won the coveted New Writing South Award in 2012 after making its debut at the Brighton Fringe.

Although the three pieces that make up Triptych are quite different in style and genre, it became obvious that thematically they were closely interlinked in terms of the issues they explored.

The most obvious link between all three works is the live musical accompaniment from Tom Cook. But look a little deeper and the whole trio examine issues surrounding nature and the destruction of environments.

Opening the trio is a piece of shadow puppetry originally devised by Emily Laurens about the last Eskimo Curlew.

“All of us met at [London puppet theatre] Little Angel where Emily was technical manager,” says Pearl. “Puppetry is woven through all three of us. There’s something about the puppet which is very deep – it’s like a storyteller saying ‘Once upon a time’. The audience has permission to sit back and go into the dark.

“Puppets can take you into a magical place – its easier in some ways to tell incredible stories.”

She believes by focusing on one bird and tracing its journey from the Arctic to Argentina it has a stronger impact.

“It feels like we are confronted with a lot of devastating science,” she says. “People shut down – so this is a way of getting people into a more open space where they can see things in a different way.”

Nature is at the heart of Rachel Porter’s physical theatre piece about gypsy poet Papusza.

Her work examined her relationship with the elements and nature – but trouble came when an anthropologist decided to publish them without her consent.

“Papusza was ostracised by her tribe,” says Pearl. “The publisher wouldn’t stop the print run, even though Papusza was begging him to.

“Ultimately she was incarcerated in a mental institution. It is an amazing insight into the gypsy culture in Poland before the Second World War, and the persecution of women within gypsy culture.”

Porter’s staging is much more stripped back, reflecting her vision of Feral Theatre as a company that turns up with a suitcase and starts a performance.

Pearl’s contribution to the trio of works goes back to her background in touring circus and especially aerial circus.

The basis for the work is the battle for Newbury Woods in the 1990s, as developers cut down trees to make room for a bypass – scenes which are being repeated today on the proposed road between Bexhill and Hastings.

“It felt like it needed to be told before it was forgotten,” she says. “It’s not too specific – I wanted to make it more magical – about communicating and finding a place in a living world, realising there’s power and energy in action.”

The backdrop for all three works is Preston Old Church, which the company used for their 2011 ecological show Funeral For Lost Spaces.

“It’s nearly 1,000 years old,” says Pearl. “It has beautiful frescos but is very quiet and surrounded by a graveyard – it’s an adventure to find it. It’s a lovely space to hang around in!”