Circus theatre company Ockham’s Razor has announced a new adaptation of Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles, offering schools free accompanying workshops and teacher resource packs.
Touring the UK from October 2023 to April 2024, Tess will present the well-known story of power, loss and endurance through a feminist lens.
The workshops will explore devising techniques and the themes of the show, and in some areas a pre-show discussion with academics will be offered to students too.
Tess of the D’Urbervilles is included in the A Level English curriculum, and is also relevant to drama students at both GCSE and A Level stages.
The ensemble of circus performers is made up of a diverse cast, featuring a female actress and female circus performer who both portray the character of Tess.
This will be the first production from Ockham's Razor that has been based on a novel; the script has been written using Hardy’s own words, alongside advice from acclaimed novelist and screenwriter Anne Marie Casey.
Produced by Turtle Key Arts, the performance is set to depict the physical labour of the novel, wielding wooden planks, shifting walls, ropes and swathes of linen that members of the circus troupe balance upon, climb and construct – a divising technique that will be discussed thoroughly in its accompanying school workshops.
The story remains relevant for contemporary audiences, exploring questions of privilege, class, consent, agency, female desire and sisterhood.
On the project, directors Alex Harvey and Charlotte Mooney say: ‘One of the surprises in the creation of Tess is how much joy and humour there is to find in the novel and the staging. There is a seam of joy in there which is captured by the play and collaboration of the ensemble.’
To find out more and to book a workshop contact charlotte@turtlekeyarts.org.uk or 020 8964 5060.