Overview

A magical tale of a blooming unlikely friendship.

Hidden amongst the concrete high-rises and the redbrick buildings is something pretty unexpected. A place bursting with colour where flowers, fruits and vegetables come to life in every corner growing up walls, twisting around drainpipes and planted in unusual objects.

A curious child discovers this hidden garden and meets the man who has created his own little paradise to brighten up the grey and to feed those for whom hunger is never far away.

Join this unlikely duo and be part of the bond that sprouts when they go on an enchanting adventure together.

Created for children aged 5+ and their grown-ups, this performance will celebrate how gardening brings communities together and breathes new life into abandoned places. It will gently highlight food poverty, recycling, activism, and the power of reclaiming space.

The Hidden Garden is touring this summer and autumn 2024 – see all dates and book tickets here

Research & Development

We began R&D for The Hidden Garden (first working title ‘Guerilla Gardening’) in July 2021 with workshops in schools. We worked with Trees for Cities through their Edible Playgrounds initiative in the first phase of development and then with charity Grow to School to run the Community Growing Day at the end of the second R&D. The workshops helped us to understand more about what children know and feel about gardening, growing, and the themes we are exploring. They are co-authors in our story, helping us build a tale based on their ideas and experiences.

The production design will combine urban living and nature with a garden created on waste land at the centre of the story. The audience will laugh, imagine, and join in with the storytelling, and at the same time be inspired about how they can help the environment or make sure everyone they live near has enough to eat.

The Hidden Garden is touring to small-scale studios and non-traditional spaces this summer and autumn 2024.

Watch the film from the R&D planting, performance and story sharing day at Co-op Academy Princeville in Bradford in June 2022

Watch the film from our R&D in July 2021