The Wider Earth (Photo courtesy of Prudence Upton)
When: 2nd October – 30th December 2018
Where: Jerwood Gallery at the Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, Kensington, London SW7 5BD
£: Tickets cost from £19.50 and are available to be booked now. Natural History Museum Members will receive a 10% discount on tickets.
What is it?
This autumn, the European premiere of the award-winning Charles Darwin drama, The Wider Earth will be performed in the Jerwood Gallery at the Natural History Museum in London. This will be the first time a performance-based theatre has been constructed in the museum, adding a new element to the exhibitions.
From Tuesday 2nd October to Sunday 30th December, The Wider Earth will find the perfect home at the museum, amongst specimens collected by Darwin himself.
The story of a young Darwin (Photo courtesy of Prudence Upton)
The museum is custodian to many of the specimens Charles Darwin collected on his expeditions. The museum’s 350 scientists continue in his footsteps of exploration and discovery; seeking solutions to the major issues facing the natural world.
Featuring a cast of seven and 30 extraordinary hand-made puppets representing the exotic wildlife Darwin encountered, The Wider Earth is a coming-of-age story celebrating the incredible complexity of our planet and Darwin’s adventurous spirit.
The production explores the story of the rebellious young Charles Darwin when, aged only 22, he set out on his daring five-year voyage on HMS Beagle. When he departed, he could not have known that this trip would help him reach controversial conclusions about natural selection and lead to his theory of evolution.
The Wider Earth follows Darwin’s expedition, as uncharted landscapes unfold in a series of animations, with original illustrations from the voyage.
Darwin’s discoveries (Photo courtesy of Prudence Upton)
The Jerwood Gallery at the Natural History Museum was restored in 1999 with a grant from the Jerwood Foundation; providing a home in the museum for arts and science exhibitions and activities.
Evening audiences will pass next to the museum’s cutting edge Darwin Centre. The Centre comprises working laboratories as well as some of the 22 million zoological specimens housed there, including specimens collected by Charles Darwin on his voyage in 1831.
The museum’s scientists, led by paleobiologist Professor Adrian Lister (author of Darwin’s Fossils), are working closely with the creative producers of the show.
Written and directed by the Dead Puppet Society’s creative director David Morton, the idea for The Wider Earth was conceived at a residency in Cape Town with the Handspring Puppet Company (the creative team behind War Horse).
More info: thewiderearth.com
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