The Allotmenteers

In homage to the great British allotment and those who tend them.

Dedicated to the Manor Garden Allotments Society.

Meet The Allotmenteers, or The Olympic Three!

Harry, Harvey and Hyacinth are an unlikely trio, yet they have a mutual passion - the allotment in Hackney Wick they share.

They have tended it lovingly and painstakingly for years, dividing up the seasonal, organic produce they grow together. It saves them money on their shopping bills and it tastes so much better because they have grown it themselves. But it means so much more to them than just the food they grow.

They get exercise in the fresh air, and they feel they are doing something positive in this warming climate. They are also aware of how very lucky they are to have this small green space in the middle of London, as allotment numbers are dwindling and waiting lists are getting longer. Most of all, however, they simply enjoy each other’s company.

But The Allotmenteers are on the run! These three have fallen foul of the 2012 Olympics - their humble plot of land has been bought by Compulsory Purchase Order to make way for the London Olympic site.

They campaigned and protested as long as they could, but as the bulldozers approached they saw no alternative but to dig up their allotment as it lay, load it onto a wheelbarrow and scarper!

But Harry, Harvey and Hyacinth they think they are being followed. People in tracksuits are everywhere. Besuited Lord Coe look-a-likes peer out of taxis and cafés. And tourists seem disconcertingly interested in the 2012 Olympics. Our three fugitives are starting to think their particular piece of land must be so vital to the success of the 2012 Olympics that the IOC want it back.

So our heroic gardeners now trundle about London with their mobile allotment, never in one place for long, always looking over their shoulders, recoiling from joggers and cyclists in fear.

But whenever they feel safe or amongst friends there is nothing they like better than setting up a deckchair for Harry and tending to their veg, chatting to passers-by about the joys of allotmenteering and offering gardening tips or a bite of a juicy carrot, with a few conspiracy theories thrown in.

Kendal Mintfest

We've just been invited by M.I.A. to perform at the Mintfest Street Festival in Kendal!

We'll be taking some of our walkabouts to the town centre on Saturday 30 August, and our cake stall will be in the park on Sunday 31st.

rehearsal for The Country - Ribbon Dance

Once again Saturday found Natasha, Sandy and Frank prancing around at Camden People's Theatre, this time working out Daphne's Olympic Ribbon Dance for her forthcoming turn as Team Freetannia at the 2012 Olympics. We'd like to think that with these three as her coaches she stands a very good chance of winning gold!

City of Wings 2009 - street theatre festival in Ypres

Natasha is looking forward to visiting the City of Wings street theatre festival in Ypres on 4 April.

workshop at Central School of Speech and Drama II

Our workshop at Central was a resounding success!

We knew we wanted the students to experience our work rather than just explain it, so Frank and Natasha arrived as Colin and Susan, the Guildford Chapter of the Rambling Association.

Vociferously demanding the right to roam through the rehearsal room, the Central students gently pointed out the errors in Colin's map-reading skills (the map was upside down and of China), so our embarrassed walkers whipped out a tarpaulin and had a picnic of rich tea biscuits, polo mints and Kendal Mint Cake with the group instead.

Susan and Colin then morphed back into Natasha and Frank and talked the group through CCC's current repertoire to explain our artistic practice, from how we generate ideas to practical tips on working with the public.

Natasha and Frank then took the basic premise - to create an act in the style of CCC to raise money for Red Nose Day - and got the students to devise their own performance.

As the act needed to raise money the group was set the question:

How do people make money on the street?

The group then brainstormed and came up with a long list such as: busking, shoe-shining, prostitution, selling the Big Issue, collecting for charity, a market stall, begging, picking pockets, and gambling (card table, cup and ball etc.).

Once they had chosen the idea that appealed to them most they asked themselves one of the following:

Who is the least likely person to do this?

What is the least likely thing they would be asking for money for?

What is going wrong for them in this situation?

Frank and Natasha then wandered around asking each group or individual what ideas they had come up with, and were delighted at the wonderful scenarios emerging. Not only were the acts and characters funny and engaging, they managed to weave in social commentary on issues such as the current financial crisis, the war on terror, ageism, human trafficking, homelessness, the housing maket, and wheel-clamping with intelligence and humour. (Natasha and Frank did actually devise an act before the workshop (here's one we made earlier!) in case the students didn't come up with anything, but it ceratinly wasn't needed!)

The students were also so tuned in to the process that when a battery fell out of someone's pocket they immediately leapt on it to use as another idea. The other great thing to see was the idea sharing between groups.

The group then did practice performances, with the other students wandering past as the public would during a performance, and we discussed possible pitfalls such as physical contact with the public, the public ignoring your approach or being aggressive, and saying yes to teenagers.

So mission accomplished. The students came up with many workable ideas for Red Nose Day, and Colin and Susan got back to Guildford safely.

rehearsals for The Country - Bolero II

Allan (Daphne) and Nick (Mr Naughty, the man from the BBC) recreate Torvill and Dean's Bolero for the forthcoming production of The Country, or The Sovereign State of Freetannia.

workshop at Central School of Speech and Drama

Frank and Natasha are off to the Central School of Speech and Drama later to run a workshop. The aim is to devise a scenario in the style of CCC to raise money for Red Nose Day.