Led by Wiltshire based performers and theatre makers Iona Johnson and Anna Harriott,

Stories in the Dust is a play made with and for young people with the climate emergency at its core. 

 

After an initial residency period at MAST Mayflower Studios in 2022, Stories in the Dust was first shared at their Homegrown Emergency Festival. The show then toured out into communities, through Wiltshire Creative. In early 2023 the pair secured Arts Council funding for a three week R&D project, in partnership with Pound Arts and Longford Primary School, with support from Wiltshire Creative. They worked alongside The Environmental Science department of Southampton University to develop the show and create an accompanying education pack which can be accessed here.

 

The show toured to theatre and community venues, in London, the Midlands, the North and the South West of England, in Autumn 2023 and 2024. 

 

The show will tour again throughout 2025 alongside an extensive workshop programme that serves to primarily reach those with barriers to accessing the arts. Access, equality and sustainable touring are at the heart of

Stories in the Dust. 

 

Inspired by this work, Anna and Iona are Co authors, alongside Professor Ian Williams of Southampton University, of a paper that is published by the Key Cities Innovation Network in the innovative new scientific journal Civic Partners in Net Zero, presented at the House of Commons in April 2024.

 

The paper, entitled Stories in the Dust: the arts as a medium to communicate climate science research explores how the arts can be an effective tool to inspire social change, communicating climate science by getting right to the heart of an audience, through live theatre

 

You can find out more about the paper and publication here.

 

To keep up to date on where the show is heading to next, visit the tour dates page here.​

 

Stories in the Dust are proud partners of Pound Arts, MAST Mayflower Studios Wiltshire Creative and Associates of Climate Museum UK