The Curse of the English Rose
Combining spoken word, embodied performance and an original score to re-imagine folklore from the Shropshire Hills. First Screened at the Arts and Place group show. The Gallery, Dartington, Jan 2024
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Tracing my ancestral roots to 17th century rural Shropshire, I ask what it means to be English in post-colonial Britain. Through embodied experiences within the landscape of the Shropshire Hills, I seek to tell my own story in relation to the land and my ancestry, developing a new sense of belonging within a personalised cultural identity. Whilst asking the question: How can we reimagine “Englishness” and our cultural identity through folk narratives and embodied knowledge of the natural landscape?
Shropshire Folktales
Wild Eadric
The Black Dog is one of the forms of Wild Eadric. He has many forms. In history he is known as the Anglo Saxon thegn who led a great rebellion against the Norman occupation of Britain in the 11th century. In folklore he is known for marrying a faerie bride and for riding with the Wild Hunt in the form of a Black Dog.
The Black Dog is one of the forms of Wild Eadric. He has many forms. In history he is known as the Anglo Saxon thegn who led a great rebellion against the Norman occupation of Britain in the 11th century. In folklore he is known for marrying a faerie bride and for riding with the Wild Hunt in the form of a Black Dog.
St. Milburga
Milburga was a 7th century Saxon princess who became the abbess of Much Wenlock Priory. There are many stories about Milburga, from curing the blind to talking with geese, these stories are woven into the landscape. She lived in a time of bloody battles and wondrous miracles, in first days of Anglo Saxon Christianity, and her stories blend saintly iconography with the imagery of nature deities
Milburga was a 7th century Saxon princess who became the abbess of Much Wenlock Priory. There are many stories about Milburga, from curing the blind to talking with geese, these stories are woven into the landscape. She lived in a time of bloody battles and wondrous miracles, in first days of Anglo Saxon Christianity, and her stories blend saintly iconography with the imagery of nature deities
Footage, Photo & Music credits: Rosie May Jones