Tells us a bit about the show, En Route Together?
En Route Together is an immersive walking experience through Woolwich. Starting at the beautiful St George Garrison Church, an evocative ruin and a contemporary spiritual space, moving through the hubbub of the town centre and finishing by the river Thames. The route will be animated by dance, live music, singing and will bring together Protein’s performers with some local performance groups. En Route Together will appeal to people who enjoy walking, the arts, exploring, seeing places through a new lens and connecting with others. At the end of the journey the audience will feel a sense of arrival and achievement, it’s great fun.
This is the third iteration of En Route, what was the original inspiration for the work and how has it developed?
Protein have been making work in the Royal Borough of Greenwich for over two decades. We are very connected to local people and when we moved to our new home Woolwich Works, we wanted to find creative opportunities to introduce Greenwich residents to their new cultural venue. Then covid hit!
With the above in mind, the inspiration for En Route in 2021 was to create a relaxed walking experience for audiences whilst we were coming out of lockdown, which moved through Woolwich and ended at Woolwich Works. Bringing people to the venue, reconnecting after lockdown, bringing back the joy of live arts in a safe and legal manner.
There was a need for people to reconnect and we were limited to socialising or being in large groups outdoor. We ran a free programme of outdoor dance and singing workshops, walks for members of the public with Protein artists and tested ideas for En Route with local people. This exploration helped to create the first version of the promenade.
En Route was incredibly well received and following its success, in 2022 Greenwich and Docklands International Festival (GDIF) commissioned Protein to further develop the piece for their festival. En Route to Common Ground was characterised by the participation of a large group of community performers and special guests. This Summer, En Route Together further develops that idea and we have invited three brilliant local groups to join us and perform especially commissioned dance and music; Pulsar UK, Sing Together and Dancing to the Music of Time.
Why did you want to bring together a cast of professionals and community artists?
Protein has been deeply embedded in the Greenwich community, particularly Woolwich, for many years. Every project we deliver informs the next. Some of our participants have taken part in (In)visible Dancing, En Route, En Route to Common Ground, Embrace (our CPD programme), one-off workshops and our Thursday dance classes at Woolwich Works. This has enabled their voice and creativity to influence the dance theatre experiences we create. We have been inspired by these people and we believe this connection makes our work relevant.
What are the challenges presenting an outdoor promenade work?
The weather is the main challenge when performing outdoors, especially in the UK, and you’ve got to find ways of adapting the work to whatever the weather.
Our dancers are performing on grass, gravel, concrete and paving stones, this is a huge challenge that they train for. We need to equip them with good shoes and allow them time to warm up and cool down.
Outdoor work can be very unpredictable; I need to consider that the space is not just for our performance, that there are people going about their everyday business. We pass by some vulnerable people who on occasion can interact with us in an unsafe way, so risk assessing is vital. Protein’s producers are excellent at this, as they know Woolwich so well and understand the work.
The great thing about outdoor work is that it feels so spontaneous, interactive and everyone can engage with it. We receive such a warm welcome during our performances. People need fun and connection and this is what we bring.
What can audiences expect from En Route Together? What do you hope they will take away from the work?
I hope they will take away a sense of joy and connection with themselves, with others and with the environment. I hope that they will take away thoughts and feelings around walking, sharing and expressing oneself. En Route is essentially about feeling alive and coming together to build or rebuild strength, joy and a string sense of community.