Tree Planting Scheme Announced For CAMP ALBION at the Watermill

The Watermill Theatre today commits to planting a tree for every audience member who comes to see the world premiere of CAMP ALBION. The new play by Watermill Playwright in Residence Danielle Pearson is currently playing at the Newbury venue until 16 July and focuses on environmental activism and the 1996 'Battle of Newbury'.

For every ticket purchased for Camp Albion from today until the end of the show's run, The Watermill will plant a tree, working with a range of partners - including the Woodland Trust - to deliver this pledge. The theatre is also offering customers the opportunity to support this initiative by donating to its tree-planting fund at the time of booking, online or through the Box Office.

Paul Hart said, "The destruction of 10,000 trees to build the bypass was an extraordinary moment in local and environmental history. We're proud to have produced a new piece of writing that revisits this important time, and our pledge to plant a tree for every person who sees the show at the Watermill forms part of our continued commitment to produce theatre sustainably."

The Watermill is committed to taking action to respond to the climate emergency. The theatre's location, on the banks of the River Lambourn, within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, offers a unique connection to the natural environment. There are a number of initiatives underway to improve the environmental sustainability of its work, including reusing and recycling sets to minimise the waste in the production process, sourcing local produce for the restaurant and transitioning to digital communication and ticketing to reduce paper waste. The Watermill's aim is to make a positive impact on the way its staff, acting companies and audiences can live, make, and enjoy theatre in an environmentally sustainable way.

About Camp Albion

'I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...'

Newbury, 1996. Nine miles of ancient woodland under threat, and the local community bitterly divided over the proposed route of the new bypass. When Cassie returns home for the university holidays, she meets Dylan, a beguiling road protester who draws her into a world of rickety treehouses, lentil stew, druidic rituals and stoic resistance. But her mother has other ideas, and as battle lines are drawn, Cassie must face the personal cost of activism.

In a time before smartphones, Twitter, Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion, the 'Third Battle of Newbury' was one of the definitive environmental campaigns of the 1990s. A new play with music, Camp Albion explores the heroism, humour and heated debate of this extraordinary moment in the town's history.

Directed by Georgie Staight and designed by Isobel Nicolson, Camp Albion has lighting by Lucía Sánchez Roldán and sound by Anna Short, with musical arrangements by Joe Swift. The Stage Management team consists of Emily Stedman (DSM) and Izzy Moore (ASM), Saxon Hutchman as Technical ASM, with audio description by Joanna Myers.

The production stars Hannah Brown (The Magician's Elephant (RSC) Preludes (Southwark)) as Cassie, Kate Russell-Smith (Harry Potter and The Cursed Child (Palace), A Curmudgeon's Guide To Round Robin Christmas Letters (Hope Theatre - Offie nomination for Best Actress)) as Foxglove Sue / Viv and Joe Swift (Pool (No Water) (Royal Court), The Greatest Hits Of Lily And John (Other Palace)) as Dylan.

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