Immersive audio walk encourages locals to explore the history of Deptford

The podcast’s cover. Pic: Evelyn’s Roots

An immersive podcast which originates from a promenade performance by Deptford-based theatre group Teatro Vivo, has been released to encourage people to experience the production using their mobile device.

Evelyn’s Roots podcast, which is set in Evelyn Ward, the northernmost part of Lewisham, allows the audience to follow stories inspired by the experiences of real people who have lived and laid down their roots in Deptford over the last 400 years.

The theatre piece is made up of nine episodes that are available online for free and take about an hour and a half to complete for those who wish to follow the route of the audio walk as intended.

“The piece itself is a mixture of interviews with locals, and tales of the local area performed by the trees who inhabit the local parks,” said Mark Stevenson, Artistic Associate at Teatro Vivo.

It begins at Sayes Court Park and follows past the river Thames before coming to an end at Deptford Park.


Evelyn’s Roots was c0-written over several years by Bernadette Russell and Gareth Brierley, both of whom live in Deptford.

It was created as part of the Lewisham Project, which engaged communities in Lewisham through cultural events, and received funding from the borough for three years.

Stevenson said: “We’d never produced a podcast before, but we felt like this project had so many amazing stories that were very specific to the places in the area that we wanted to find a way to share them with as many people as possible.”

Teatro Vivo is a theatre group based in Lewisham that put on performances anywhere but the stage.

The group is currently run by Sophie Austin, Mark Stevenson and Kas Darley, and have built a strong reputation within the local area for creating unique pieces that engage both the audiences and the communities.

Their upcoming project, The Hunters Grimm, is set to take place in Catford and Stratford in May and June 2019.

 

 

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