LEEDS 2023: St Aidan's RSPB Nature Park to become backdrop for large-scale theatrical show on climate change

Nest, a LEEDS 2023 and National Youth Theatre production, is a site-specific theatre show taking place at St Aidan's RSPB Nature Park in east Leeds from September 5-9.

This is the first time St Aidan's has been the venue for a theatrical show. More than 100 performers and 20 young people in backstage roles have come together to explore themes of identity, existence and climate migration using live music, visual projection and performance.

The production is intentionally set in the year 2050, the year which The Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change, has outlined as the deadline to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions. It follows a 20-year-old girl who is attending a bird-watching festival following the loss of their grandmother, who loved the natural world.

It will also include participants from National Youth Theatre’s associate company Compass Collective, which helps unaccompanied minor refugees and young people seeking asylum to build resilience and integrate into the country through theatre, music and film.

Kully Thiarai, creative director and chief executive of Leeds 2023, said: “Amplifying the voices and stories of young people has been one of the core ambitions of our Year of Culture.

“As we enter our third and final season for LEEDS 2023 Part 3: Dreaming it seems only right that one of our major pieces in this season is a brilliant collaboration with NYT and a diverse group of young people exploring some of the big issues of our time.

"Nest dramatically brings into sharp relief our relationship with nature and takes us into the future through beautiful imagery and storytelling as young people share their hopes and concerns over what, environmentally, lies ahead.”

Paul Roseby, of the National Youth Theatre, added: "Nest is the latest big show offering of National Youth Theatre’s art and activism programme unlocking facts and stories of our climate crisis by animating locations and unusual buildings in a dramatic way.

"Staged at St Aidan’s stunning bird sanctuary, both local, national and international performers take action with a world premiere production to lift our hearts, minds and give hope to a fragile earth we call home."