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About the Show 

The Voyage So Far

'The Whale's Tale' is a new theatre show and workshop for family audiences about whales, coastal communities, and protecting the oceans we all rely on.

 

It uses puppetry, original music and playful storytelling to call out - all hands on deck for the ocean!


Theatre maker Edie Edmundson first dreamt up the project after reading about critically endangered North Atlantic Right Whales - so-called because they were the 'right' whale to hunt - who are now threatened by noise pollution, ship strikes and entanglement in fishing nets. Edie began to think about our relationship with whales, and the ocean, from the days of whaling to the modern day with fossil fuels and plastic.

 

The more she researched, the more she realised how interconnected these stories are. And coastal communities - particularly vulnerable to climate change - are at the centre of the story then and now. That's why she knew the project had to begin near the coast, in Plymouth, the UK's Ocean City!

We have done two Arts Council Funded R&Ds, developing the story, the puppets, and working with communities.

 

We have worked with whale scientists from Plymouth University, fishers from Brixham Quay, children from Plymouth, global conservation charities, and environmental campaigners who travel the UK from their base in Brixham Harbour, gathering marine waste.

 

We have also worked with an access consultant, Dr Louise Fryer, to make our show accessible to Blind and Visually Impaired audiences, with Integrated Audio Description and a touch tour. You can find her book by clicking here. 

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We are all crew - all hands on deck!

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In the foreground, a puppet of a whale made from cardboard and bubble wrap. It is supported on long sticks by a puppeteer in the background.

Emily Dyble with a prototype made by Amber Donovan Kahn. Photo by Sian Herbert. 

A photo of fishing boats tied up in a harbour on a sunny day. In the foreground, a boat is moored with fishing nets spilling over it's sides and the winches for hauling in nets clearly visible. In the background, white masts of sailing boats cluster on the horizon.

The fishing boats of Brixham. Photo by Edie Edmundson.

Videos

Below this text is a video from our first Research and Development week. Click here for a text description of the video. 

Video by Joel Court

Below this text is a video from our second  Research and Development week. Click here for a text description of the video. 

Video by Joel Court

Gallery 

Here are some photos of our Research and Development week in March 2024 at the Little Angel Theatre. The photographer is Sian Herbert. 

In the foreground a puppeteer in a woolly jumper holds a prototype whale puppet made from cardboard and foam. It has a long, curving body, wide flippers and a tail which flips upwards. In the background is a tall structure topped with a cardboard shape resembling the tail of the whale.

Emily Dyble with protoype whale made by Amber Donovan Kahn. Photo by Sian Herbert

In the foreground, a prototype puppet of a little girl balances on one leg. She is made of carboard and rope, with an orange dress and messy blue and orange hair. She is supported by three puppeteers who hold her arms and legs in position

Emily Dyble, Bori Mezo and Jess Shead with a prototype made by Amber Donovan Kahn. Photo by Sian Herbert

In the foreground two performers, Bori and Emily, stand side by side. They are both wearing woolly jumpers. Bori has her hand to her brow as if peering into the distance, and Emily is holding a bucket. In the background a third performer, Jess, is reaching up to attach a rope to a tall structure in the shape of a whale's tail.
Three people are gathered around a large piece of paper. On the left, Bori, in an orange jumper, crouches and smiles thoughtfully. In the middle, Edie, with short pink hair, is smiling as she writes on the paper. On the right, Nicole, with long brown hair, leans forward curiously.

Bori Mezo, Edie Edmundson and Nicole Redfern. Photo by Sian Herbert. 

Bori Mezo, Emily Dyble and Jess Shead. Photo by Sian Herbert. 

Meet The Crew

Like any crew, we each bring different skills to the project. 

Edie, a young woman with short pink hair kneels on the floor, smiling to the side. She is dressed in red and pink, with hoop earrings, and holding a purple pen.

Edie Edmundson

Writer and Director

Nicole, a woman with curly brown hair wearing a pale fleece, sits cross legged on the floor. She is looking upwards and seems to be speaking.

Nicole Redfern 

Assistant Director

Jess, a young woman with brown skin and black hair, holds a wicker basket and tosses an orange rope out of it. She has her head tipped back as if she is singing or laughing.

Jess Shead

Performer and Co-Creator

Amber, a young woman with blonde hair wearing a black t-shirt holds up a prototype puppet of a whale made of cardboard. The puppet is suspended on long poles over her head, and she is looking up at it.

Amber Donovan Kahn

Designer and Maker

Lizzy, a woman with long brown hair dressed in a purple jumper, holds a guitar and smiles.

Lizzy Westcott

Composer and Musical Director

Emily, a young woman with long blonde hair wearing a purple jumper, is smiling and singing. She has her arms spread wide and her fists clenched as if she is feeling excited.

Thea Woodrow

Creative Producer

Bori, a young woman with black hair poking out of a woolly hat and wearing a patterned jumper, stands with her hand to her forehead as if squinting into the distance. She holds a tambourine out in front of her.

Bori Mezo

Performer and Co-Creator

Emily Dyble 

Performer and Co-Creator

Mary, a young woman with brown hair, wearing a pale dress, stands on the right of the image. She is holding four sticks and playing a marimba, a large wooden percussion instrument, which fills most of the left side of the image.

Mary Johnson

Performer and Co-Creator

Emma, a young woman with dark hair tied back, sits on a tall stool under an umbrella. She is wearing long stilts covered with trousers, so her legs and feet look like the legs of a giant. She is grinning happily.

Emma Longthorne 

Performer and Co-Creator

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