Meet Paper Cow Ensemble – the 15th company to come from Made in Bristol initiative

On Thu 10 Jul, Paper Cow Ensemble will open their debut show This is Not a Garden.

This new company is made up of 8 young theatre-makers at the very start of their careers.

They have been working together for 8 months as the 15th company to come out of of Bristol Old Vic's hugely successful Made in Bristol (MIB) programme.

We caught up with company member Beck Watts, to find out more about the inspiration behind their debut production...

Hi Beck! 

So - what's the play about?

This Is Not a Garden is set on an allotment site, and is largely focused on the community created between the inhabitants. There was a long process in our research and development period - where we’d floated the idea of a wacky allotment site in our very first session - of discovering what we wanted to say and the framework in which we’d discuss it.

What was your inspiration ?

A huge inspiration for us was one of our members reflections after a trip to Nepal—Faye had stayed in a small village community in the mountains there, and was deeply inspired by their ability to self-sustain, and their close community dynamics. This is when our two inspirations clicked together perfectly—and allotments ended up being the perfect vessel to explore the ideas we were becoming increasingly passionate about. Self-sufficiency, community dynamics, corporate greed, ownership and more.

How would you describe your approach in rehearsals?

This balance of wacky settings and poignant themes is a relationship we’ve been playing with for the last eight months as an ensemble, through our ‘Made in Bristol’ origins. After a series of workshops with industry professionals, we really honed our style and approach. We’re a playful and inventive group of people, and have found going into this rehearsal process that our strength lies in our range of experience and interests.

What has been one of the challenges?

One challenge which may be a surprise to you is that we're a group of people who have never owned an allotment! We’ve had to do a lot of research and a lot of reaching out. A key grounding factor for us has been the concept of community—through strengthening our own, we’re able to tie our work to the heart of why allotments are so important.

We’ll be working hard these next five weeks of rehearsal to bring you a show that is rooted in the values of collectivity and shared responsibility, and also the importance of urban green spaces for community and individual wellbeing.