Creative collision

Exeter is rapidly becoming a real hotspot for innovative theatre. This includes many performance and participatory activities that don't take place in buildings, so the crossover into fine art practice is very pronounced.

Kaleider is one of the organisations driving this movement and, a few weeks back, I accepted an invitation to attend one of their 'Open Fridays'. It was odd walking into someone else's office space just to hang out and eat a packed lunch, but they offered a warm welcome and good conversation.  And it turned out we had a little more in common than I first thought. Their work as producers and mentors of live performance is rooted in a concern with climate change, the fiscal crisis and the end of oil.

So a month later I was back delivering an informal talk: the first proper public articulation of my ongoing project Foreign Soil. This documented attempt to grow edible dessert bananas outdoors on a Devon farm is meant as a provocation for thoughts about the sustainability of our food supply.

From there I was coaxed into joining their Ideas Lab - designed as development tool for writers and performers applying for Kaleider commissions, but in fact a really exciting forum where environmentalists, activists, artists, performers, educators, poets, actors, directors and many others met to share ideas.

All the stand-up, quick-fire brainstorming and improvised role play was hard work for me - an artist who thinks on paper (or with her hands) and who looks to research and reflection for ideas rather than riffing with other people.  But it was good to see how another group of artists went about their business and to share in their amazing energy.  It was also a great opportunity to network with like-minded people - and much more may come of that.