Local educational arts company Ensonglopedia will be launching their new show ‘The Puddle at the End of the World’ at this year’s Brighton Fringe. The story follows a 13-year-old girl and her Nanna as they escape their home after flooding; they need the audience’s help to find somewhere to sleep and figure out why the weather’s being so weird. Using humour, song, puppetry and physical theatre, the show explains climate change and climate migration to young audiences, exploring possible solutions to leave viewers with a sense of hope for the future.
The company has prioritised sustainability throughout the creation of their production. Everything will either be reused or second-hand and anything that does need to be bought new will be ethically sourced. Ensonglopedia are working with a Sustainability Consultant, and are recording all carbon usage for the project. The production has won the Bird & Blend SustainabiliTEA bursary in recognition of the company’s innovative approach to sustainable theatre. The show’s writer and director John Hinton says, “It felt important that our show about saving the planet didn’t make worse the very problem it’s trying to address.”
The show’s climate science is being fact-checked by institutions including the University of Durham, Drusillas Zoo, Incredible Oceans, Blue EcoTech and the Migrant Offshore Aid Station. John says, “While our most important task as theatre makers is for the audience to leave with a laugh in their belly and an earworm going round their heads, at its heart this is a show about a very serious issue, and it is absolutely vital to us that all the science in the show is completely accurate and presented in the best possible way.”
As well as its Brighton Fringe run, the production will tour up and down the country, premiering at Peterborough Celebrates Festival in May, and ending at the Royal Albert Hall in October.
The Puddle at the End of the World has been funded by Arts Council England and the Three Monkies Trust.
Tickets available here: https://www.brightonfringe.org/events/the-puddle-at-the-end-of-the-world/
About Ensonglopedia
Company credits
Performed by Helen Vine and Ruchika Jain
Written and directed by John Hinton
Assistant director & dramaturg Laura Mugridge
Costumes by Sarah Walpole
Puppets by Caito Strongarm and Aqiong Zhang
Sustainability consultant Carolina Ortega
Accessibility consultant Kate Lovell
Poster design Laura Swaddle
Producer Tamzin Aitken
Company biogs
John Hinton | Writer & Director: John’s musical science shows have delighted audiences worldwide for the past two decades. His ‘Scientrilogy’ of musical comedies about Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein and Marie Curie has toured to seven countries, and he has been commissioned to write science song cycles for organisation including London’s Natural History Museum, Eden Project, Kew Gardens, York’s National Railway Museum, Foundry Wood, Cambridge University Botanic Garden and many more. He formed Ensonglopedia in 2016. His work has won awards at Edinburgh Fringe, Brighton Fringe, Adelaide Fringe and London’s Offies.
Ruchika Jain | Performer: Ruchika is a UK-based theatre and film actress. She has performed across the UK including Curve Theatre Leicester, Polka Theatre London, Hope Mill Theatre, Theatre Royal Haymarket, Questor’s Theatre. In India she has performed on multiple occasions at the Sriram Centre for Performing Arts in Delhi. She has appeared extensively on film and TV including most recently: “The Nan Movie” (dir. Josie Rourke), and Warner Brothers’ “The Sandman”. Ruchika is skilled in Bollywood and Latin American dance styles and speaks English, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.
Helen Vine | Performer: Helen is a UK-based actress & writer working on stage, screen and radio. She studied English and Drama at the University of East Anglia before moving to London to train at the London School of Dramatic Art. She then went on to train with the Royal Shakespeare Company and at Pinewood Studios. Helen has performed nationally; theatres include Leicester Square Arts Theatre, The Soho Theatre, The Brighton Fringe, Barons Court Theatre & The Carriageworks, Leeds. Helen has narrated audiobooks for Audible, Penguin, Usborne and HarperCollins.
