About the We That Breathe project
Bearface Theatre had the privilege to dip into three very different community spaces around Newport and Pan, to develop and play with ideas of heritage, connection and Pan’s history. Using playful theatrical tasks, puppetry, art, poetry and music we began to find common threads of interest, as well as inspiring stories….

Barton Primary School
Barton Primary went all the way back to how the Isle of Wight was formed. Inspired by the Sacred Isle folk story collection which reveals that the IOW is actually a dragon using shadow puppetry and storytelling, this group aided the development of the dragon story. The children also created the bug character in the show in a task related to the mysterious fog the ‘Swaiilen’ that features heavily in the piece.

Women’s Group CRC – WOW Centre
The women focused on the folklore of the rivers (told to Bearface Theatre by the Sacred Isle Storyteller) by retelling stories of the three Medina Sisters and how they saved Newport and the IOW from the Beast (possibly the plague). They playfully modernised it and developed new ideas of what the beast could represent. The group also made small puppets and created a song about hope, connection and strength that inspired the Medina Sisters song in the final show.

Mountbatten Hospice
Over three sessions this vibrant group began to map out their memories and explore legacy. They experimented with seeing our heritage as layers, interviewing each other and created a group poem that is used at the end of the show. The stories you hear Peter remembering at the end of the show are real stories collected by this group.