When theatre director Finn Morrell was asked by his parents to return to his family home to help them pack it up prior to sale, he prepared himself for a dull few days. What he never expected was to experience an awakening.
“The process uncovered a whole series of emotions which surprised me,” says Morrell, who is the Artistic Director of Temper Theatre in the UK. “Stories I had forgotten, memories that had been long buried suddenly resurfaced in compelling ways.”
Soon he found himself going down a rabbit hole of researching his hometown, which he had previously thought of as a “boring dead-end swamp” to be escaped as soon as he was old enough. He discovered that it was once an island, an “extraordinary waterland”, surrounded by lowlying marshland that was constantly at risk of flooding.
From a dull dead-end it transformed in his mind into a place of wonder and enchantment, and inspired him to start questioning the value of family stories and the concept of home.
These musings lead to the creation of HOME, Morrell’s fourth devised work of physical theatre in the past decade with his company Temper Theatre, and a riveting examination of memory, loss and imagination.
“I wanted to create work which had no limitation and allowed me to incorporate my training and experience in dance, theatre and sound design,” says Morrell. “Creating HOME was my way of processing past trauma and inviting us to consider the importance of home, where we begin our lives and the devastating effects of flooding.”
The work premiered at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023 and was a hit with audience members including Ziyue Ding, a representative and producer for Orange AC, who was struck by the themes of family and belonging in HOME.
This soon lead to an invitation for Temper Theatre to bring the work to China for a seven city National Tour, supported by the British Council’s Connections Through Culture program. The performances were coupled with opportunities to engage with local communities through workshops and post-show discussions.
“We thought Connections Through Culture was a perfect program to support the collaboration, bringing Temper’s work to China for the first time, introducing new methods and sparking discussion with Chinese audiences,” says Morrell. “The Connections Through Culture grant unlocked a unique and powerful pathway to cultural exchange between British arts and Chinese culture. We were able to introduce our style and methodology to Chinese audiences who mostly had never seen physical theatre before.”
As the partnership between Temper Theatre and Orange AC developed, a parallel was recognised by the collaborators in the way that flooding was impacting communities and families in both China and the UK. There was clearly a need in both countries for a meaningful space for dialogue about climate change and the consequences on friendship, family and communities – and so, a new arm to the project was launched.
“We filmed audience responses in the UK and China along with interviews from climate scientists and cultural organisations,” says Morrell. “This showed how art can be used to highlight data in impactful and emotional ways but also to elicit personal responses to people’s own understating of home and belonging.”
The tour, discussions and meetings with Orange AC allowed the Temper Theatre team to learn in-depth about the cultural ecology of China and personal responses and feedback from audiences across seven cities.
“We were able to show our work to over 3,000 audience members in China over one month,” explains Morrell. “And the Connections Through Culture programme has provided a springboard for future collaboration and galvanised a positive and meaningful relationship with a new partner overseas.”
HOME plays at the Ventnor Fringe Festival on Isle of Wight in July, at the Edinburgh Festival in August and at the Norwich Playhouse in November, with London tour dates soon to be released.