This September the Leeds Liverpool Canal will become a moving stage as traditional 1930s canal boat The Ribble hosts a play discovering how the waterway and River Aire have shaped local communities.
This Island’s Mine is part play and part friendly chat around the kitchen table as audiences join two characters played by Claire-Marie Seddon and Steve Scott-Bottoms in conversation as the boat tours Yorkshire’s Aire Valley discovering the rich history and heritage of West Yorkshire’s waterways.
Using simple props and humour friends Barbara and Danny, who grew up in Dockfield, Shipley, help audience members can help the characters build a map detailing the history of the waterways and shared stories which will be displayed at Leeds Industrial Museum in Armley.
“Dockfield, is a strip of land sandwiched between the River Aire and the Leeds Liverpool Canal – hence the title,” says Director Simon Brewis.
“As we discover more of the characters’ island home with its happy memories there is a definite nostalgic air, but as they reminisce about its heavy industry, we see that things actually weren’t always better back then, and their tale starts to map out a hopeful future for our waterways as Atlantic salmon return to the River Aire.”
The play has been commissioned by grassroots organisations Aire Rivers Trust’s ‘Developing the Natural Aire’ (DNAire) project in collaboration with Canal Connections and Multi-Storey Water, who are all working to improve river waterways and safeguard their future.
For more information and to book visit www.aireriverstrust.org.uk/this-islands-mine/ and tickets cost £3
Tour Details
Thursday 9th September: Fred’s Place, Crown Point, Leeds – 6pm & 8pm
Saturday 11th September: Leeds Industrial Museum, Armley – 11.30am (Accessible performance) 2pm & 4pm
Sunday 12th September: Kirkstall Forge, Leeds – 2pm & 4pm
Monday 13th September: Rodley, Leeds – 6pm & 8pm
Friday 17th September: Dockfield, Shipley – 6pm & 8pm
Saturday 18th September: Salts Mill, Saltaire – 12pm, 2pm & 4pm
Sunday 19th September: Dowley Gap near Bingley/Ferncliffe – 2pm & 4pm
Monday 20th September: Riddlesden, Keighley – 6pm & 8pm
Friday 24th September: Silsden, Bradford – 6pm & 8pm
Saturday 25th September: Skipton – 12pm, 2pm & 4pm
Sunday 26th September: Skipton – 2pm & 4pm