The Floral World of Hades & Persephone

Matthew Rawcliffe writes about a dance performance which received funding under the ICS public engagement grants scheme

I received an ICS Public Engagement grant to support the development of a dance performance: Hades & Persephone, a sensory performance for young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD). Rooted in ancient myth and blossoming with living detail, this version invites audiences to explore the seasons.

Our version of this story begins in Demeter and Persephone’s garden, however the garden has become more of an overgrown attic, an archaeologist’s’s neglected study. The space exists slightly outside of time - with its content ranging from an old kylix to a cassette with the best hits of Greek music.

Creating this space was a lot of work - we wanted to do something intricate that offered a big visual impact to those that might hesitantly assess the space from afar as well as having lots of objects that were exciting to be close up to - real objects from past generations, inviting you to touch, smell, and sense their genuine fragility. It was also important to keep the space as a garden - to fill it with flowers, fruits and herbs that Persephone and Demeter would truly be at home within.

The day before our first performance I was full of the usual stress of final rehearsals when something lovely happened - a single beautiful white narcissus flower bloomed in our garden. The same flower that Persephone plucks from the ground before she is taken (or decides) to visit the Underworld. The narcissus flower, of course, is full of meaning - it is the flower of ill-fated beauty, for our version of Persephone it was her symbolic act of rebellion against the comfort of the mother to the scary independence of the adult world.

The grant I received from ICS was purely for flowers - I was certain that they were the key to creating the perfect world for our story. 

People with PMLD experience the world through a primarily sensory manner - this initially drew me to the story of Hades & Persephone, this beautifully complex story that aims to give reason to the changing of the seasons. Many people in our audience may not seek an answer for the reason that Winter becomes Spring - but they are probably more in touch than we are with all the small and huge sensory shifts that this brings to our day-to-day lives. Flowers themselves hold this beautiful storytelling potential - some bloom spectacularly whilst others are dry and wilting. In our space, we offer a playground to move between all kinds of flora - from small Iris flowers that are tucked into little gift packages, to dried Larkspur petals that fall down from the sky like snow.

This grant has been essential in allowing us to create something beautiful for this audience - I am so passionate about creating work for audiences with disabilities that is just as high quality as any other dance performance you would see on a big stage. Being able to fill our performance with all these small details - representing each flower Persephone collects in myth and using them to create these magical intimate interactions. 

I believe that when we go the extra mile, filling a performance with love and care, it transcends explanation. Our audience doesn’t need to ‘get’ every reference — they feel the intention, the generosity, and the beauty. That’s what makes the difference. We have had so much positive feedback about all the work that has gone into all the little details that I feel really proud to have made an impact through these small moments of magic.

If you’re curious to see more - you can watch our trailer here: https://youtu.be/FXBvssCMDJc