'By Hook or By Crook', Holt Forest Project.

During the summer of 2004, Wimborne Community Theatre performed a play in Holt Forest, entitled 'By Hook or By Crook'. The play was the culmination of a process of research and discovery, involving the collection of stories and histories about the wood and the people who have lived and worked in it over the centuries. A particular attempt was made to gather current opinions about the wood from local people, about what the wood means to them and how it should be managed. Theatre members also worked with professional artists and local schoolchildren to create the play, which was attended by over 400 people.

The composition documents the group's creative exploration of Holt Forest, and features sounds recorded as the play was developed and performed, as well as sounds of the woodland environment itself. The recordings provide not just a documentary account of the Project, but also offer an insight into how people relate to a woodland environment close to where they live.

What struck me at the time, while putting the piece together, was that many people expressed a degree of fear about the place. Holt is a particularly atmospheric wood, having been little managed in recent years, and is dark and dense, with many ancient trees. Many of the local people described how the wood had changed over time, becoming darker and more overgrown, and were consequently less inclined to visit it - even expressing fear about whom they might encounter there. Kids, and even adults, immediately started thinking about wolves, bears, witches. The sense of mystery deepened

as people encountered rings of twigs (like mini crop circles) throughout the wood, apparently made by a local person who has developed a particular spiritual bond with the place. The process of developing the Project, and discussing the wood with the local community, also highlighted a variety of tensions about how the wood is used and should be managed. Interesting how a place can reflect the community living around it, and also what an arts project such as this can reveal about the relationships between people and places.

Best of all, for me, was the arrival of a group of travellers in a traditional wooden caravan, as if bringing to life the stories we had heard from local people about gypsies in the wood. The fact that they were immediately made unwelcome by the people living nearby says something profound, I think, about how small rural communities view the outside world: as a threat.

Another highlight was the colony of bees, nesting in an ancient spreading oak, which formed a centrepiece to the performance. The tree has since blown down.

All of the compositions and soundfiles accessible via this site are copyleft. All rights reversed. Anyone is welcome to use these soundfiles how they wish, towards a continuing creative process.