HighTide collaborates with Orford Ness
A new sound production, created in collaboration with theatre company, HighTide, has been announced at Orford Ness.
A new sound production that uses geolocated technology has been announced for National Trust Orford Ness, as part of a new artistic practice that puts the spotlight on climate change.
Ness: an audio landscape will take visitors on a specially designed sonic journey, weaving fragments of Robert Macfarlane’s poem, Ness, into a dramatic audio play that reveals itself through the use of geolocated sound.
Produced by writer-centred theatre company, HighTide, and created and directed by associate artist Zoë Svendsen and award-winning sound designer Carolyn Downing, the production is funded by the University of Cambridge.
It forms part of growing research into climate dramaturgy, a new and evolving creative practice that encourages climate-positive choices in the making, performing and watching of theatrical productions.
Clare Slater, outgoing Creative Director and CEO of HighTide, says: “The work we have done in establishing the artistic practice of climate dramaturgy, led by our Associate Artist Zoë Svendsen, has been an industry game-changer.
“Climate dramaturgy runs through all our work and this season it’s showcased in Zoë’s mesmerising adaptation of Robert Macfarlane’s prose poem about nature rising up at a time of crisis.
“Created in partnership with the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with the National Trust, this ‘audio landscape’ piece - geolocated on one of the UK’s most atmospheric nature reserves - gives food to the soul and hope to the heart.”
Orford Ness is a fitting location for the production. Not only did the landscape and history inspire Robert Macfarlane in his original work, Ness, but as a former 20th century military testing site, now left to nature, it is also Europe’s largest shingle spit and home to an abundance of wildlife.
Several species of nesting and wading birds, hares, Chinese water deer and more make their home in the landscape, which comprises 2,000 acres of reed marshes, mud flats, brackish lagoons and delicate shingle ridges. Flanked by the Alde/Ore Estuary on one side and the North Sea on the other, Orford Ness is exposed to the elements – and the force of change.
The story will take inspiration from both the past and present of Orford Ness and follow the five forms of ‘nature’, as featured in Robert Macfarlane’s Ness – It, As, She, He and They – as they converge to solve a crisis in a forbidden and seemingly forgotten landscape.
Because it uses geolocation sound technology, the story will also reveal itself in fragments, dictated by individuals’ speed and movement, making no two experiences the same.
Glen Pearce, Property Operations Manager at National Trust Orford Ness, says: “The unique landscape and history at Orford Ness has inspired so many creatives over the years, from musicians and poets, to writers, painters, photographers and film-makers.
“With its wild landscapes, beguiling past and exposed coastal location, it’s the perfect setting for HighTide’s evocative production. We hope it will open up the Ness to a new audience and give those who have visited before an exciting reason to return.”
Booking opens on Thursday 19 June for the first performance on Saturday 5 July. Orford Ness is only accessible by the National Trust ferry and open on select days until Sunday 26 October 2025. To book tickets, click here.