Time is a Gardener...and so are rather a lot of shakespearean characters.

Dot and Ethel have just finished phase one of R&D for Yorick! 

Revisiting Hamlet with a view to make a show for 3 year olds is a fascinating concept. One that constantly flawed, fascinated and fueled us over the R&D period. 

We will be sure to let you know about all elements of our creative process, but for today, this post is brought to you by Harriet's vague memory of her AS level English Lit class.

Dot and Ethel have begun to realise their connection to nature; natural growth, life cycles and treachery of the wild outdoors provide all we need for magical, unbelievable tales of wonder and adventure. It is all there! Our first meeting with Yorick in the original text is also from nature, he literally comes from out of the ground (or the grave). This got our creative juices flowing and the connection of Yorick to nature was a delectable one, and one that we couldn't help but interrogate on our R&D. 

What we believed to be true of Yorick and his connection with nature:

1. He was in touch with the seasons 

2. He understood the lifecycle.  

3. Fool Wisdom nature – Life & Reality 

Could our tent be a garden or in a garden - part of the Orchard that the King is killed in – or is it part of the churchyard? 

we laid down a lovely tactile grass floor in the tent

My favourite book during my A Level years was 'Shakespeare's Imagery and what it tells us' by Caroline Spurgeon. It clearly is brilliant because it was first published in 1935 and in my humble opinion, hasn't yet been beat.

" We saw that one interest, above all others, stands out in Shakespeare's imagery.  This is the life of the country-side and its varying aspects: the winds, the weather and seasons, the sky and cloud, bids and animals."

"One occupation, one point of view, above all others is naturally (shakespeare's), that of a gardener; watching, preserving, tending and caring for growing things, especially flowers and fruit."

This above quote is a sentiment thought of Shakespeare himself in his writing, are we likening Yorick to Shakespeare? Yorick's tendency to see matters human in plants and the natural world is a commonly repeated idea in many of Shakespeare's texts. 

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Is Yorick's presence in young Hamlet's life to teach him the most important lessons about life and the human condition, using the natural order (or chaos?!) of his garden (in the palace grounds?) focussing the mind outdoors as opposed to the inhumane atmosphere of the court where growth is not nurtured and life cut prematurely short.  

Heidi and Mark laying out the front garden

The garden setting presents us with a tactile, messy material full of fun and possibility for play, but also links back to this original context of Yorick and the life cycle  of every plant, human and animal. 

Mark tending to the plants in Yorick's unique way

The garden setting also presents us with interesting themes found from the original story; the obstacles that potentially hinder the growth of a young sapling or seed: winter, frost and disease...these could also be seen as human repressions, jealousy, passions and corruption. 

some of Yorick's gardening manuals