“I prowl the room sniffing the fetid air, they’ve been muck spreading the fields. I run out into the back garden, nose to the ground. In the centre of the newly planted hydrangeas, I get on all fours and dig. I open my mouth and drop my red spandex costume into its forever grave.”
Wild Country is a fictional autobiography that charts the course of one woman’s midlife when she becomes pregnant and moves to the edge of a marsh in rural Kent, England. This larger than life tale of identity, loss and dislocation spiralling into absurd and hairy extremes is part stand-up, part storytelling, and part myth.
Leaving behind her edgy urban dwelling in Toronto, a vibrant theatre career, and elderly Jewish parents, Edith finds herself increasingly isolated, raising small children, surrounded by nothing but sheep. Amidst rural politics and the news from back home of her mother’s newly diagnosed Alzheimers, Edith’s unravelling begins.
Created and performed by Edith Tankus (Kneehigh), Co-written by award-winning Annie Siddons (‘How Not to Live in Suburbia’) & Directed by Laura Keefe (Wise Children).
Written & Performed by: Edith Tankus
Co-written by: Annie Siddons
Directed by: Laura Keefe
Set Design by: Oliver Townsend
Lighting Design: Sherry Coenan
Sound Design: Ben Grant
Music by: Asaf Zohar
Associate Sound Design: Jack Baxter
Producer: Shamira Turner
Additional events:
Post-show discussion: Wed 26th Jan 2022
Maternal mental health psychiatrist Annie Broadbent will be joining writer-performer Edith Tankus for a post-show conversation about the themes at the heart of ‘Wild Country’. Our aim is to create a safe space for sharing around topics relating to parenthood and care. These include loss of identity, geographical & cultural isolation, caring for aging parents, and much more. Please join us for an illuminating and open discussion where your questions and perspectives will be very welcome! Performance 7.15pm (70mins), post-show discussion to begin around 8.30pm and is free to attend.
Baby-Friendly relaxed matinee: 1pm (70mins), Thu 27th Jan 2022
Camden People’s Theatre will be offering a relaxed and baby-friendly performance of Wild Country, a new solo show performed and written by Edith Tankus on Thursday January 27th at 1pm. This performance will be relaxed, so you are welcome to move, make noise, and come and go during the show. This performance especially welcomes those with babies. The show’s content and language is not designed for a young audience, but the performance style will be softened where relevant to enable those with babies to access and enjoy the live show: making an adult-centered, yet baby-friendly experience!
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. Show development has been supported by Camden People’s Theatre, Battersea Arts Centre, arts depot, and Folkestone Quarterhouse.
"It is precisely these types of projects, involving these types of people, in these types of theatres that make London what it is."
The Lancet
