In this episode of OffScript, Dash Arts' Artistic Director Josephine Burton heads out into the land itself and into the long, tangled history of who has felt at home there, and who has had to fight to claim it.
Join us to explore connection, place, and the ever-evolving landscape of English identity.
First, she talks with Toni Murphy, founder of Touching Grass, a community creating space for queer women, trans and non-binary people of colour to experience the outdoors as somewhere that belongs to them. Toni describes the hiking trips, camping and the careful acts of presence in landscapes that haven't always felt welcoming.
Then Josephine takes the longer view. What does history tell us about who has always assumed the countryside is theirs and what have people done when that assumption has been challenged? With Professor Alan Finlayson, one of the UK's leading political and social thinkers, she traces the deep roots of England's relationship with its land, all the way to the present and to Andy Burnham MP's recent journey down from the north to Westminster, reclaiming something as he went.
Find more information on Touching Grass and their latest events: www.touchgrasscamp.com
Our Public House arrives in London this week at the Marylebone Theatre for its final run, after a national tour through Leeds, Prescot, Coventry and Sheffield. Find out more
This episode is part of Dash Arts' Albion series - an ongoing exploration of what it means to be English today.
Our intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi