Pursued By A Bear Premieres LEARNING TO FLY, The First In A Series Of Lockdown Films

Pursued by a Bear launches a series of online plays with Learning to Fly, written by acclaimed playwright Anna Reynolds, released on 3 July as part of the University of Hertfordshire's Festival of Ideas Reimagined.

Learning to Fly is the first of six short pieces of theatre on film created under lockdown conditions. The films are inspired by Nothing on Earth, Anna Reynolds' full-length play for Pursued by a Bear, the autumn tour of which has been postponed due to the Covid-19 crisis. Inspired by the 2016 exhibition Hidden Hertfordshire Heroines (co-curated by Anna Reynolds), the play interweaves stories of local historical and contemporary women in a time-travelling tale of female experience.

Learning to Fly is inspired by the 'ATA Girls' who were based at Hatfield De Havilland aerodrome during World War II. As part of the civilian Air Transport Auxiliary, these women ferried planes between factories, maintenance depots and frontline RAF airfields. Each woman flew alone, navigating and piloting aircraft of all sizes from Spitfires to heavy bombers such as the Lancaster, often with only ten minutes to become accustomed to the individual aircraft.

Rosamunde Hutt, Artistic Director, PBAB: 'We have been working with Anna Reynolds on her play Nothing on Earth for over two years. The response of audiences, partners and funders to our work in progress readings were fantastic and we were thrilled to confirm its autumn tour. Then lockdown hit and our plans for the play faded. Until an exciting offer from University of Hertfordshire Arts enabled a new way to not only to keep the project going but to extend it - make it broader, more accessible, and even more exciting. We are so grateful to have received funding that has put us in a position to give paid work to our creative team. We are proud to release the first of six films and look forward to sharing the rest of this project over the coming weeks.'

Alongside other online activity including a blog and an e-book, the series of films are made in partnership with University of Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire Year of Culture 2020, Dacorum Borough Council, Hertford Theatre, Trestle, Rhodes Arts Centre Bishop's Stortford, and Pump House Watford. The work is supported by investment from Arts Council England's Emergency Response Fund and from University of Hertfordshire Arts.

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