Check out our new film on TiR’s Edible Education Programme.
Filmed and Edited by Matthew Barton
“Growing in soil, step into the sack, wrapped in plastic, factory packed. Chillin on a shelf, lookin scrummy on a plate. Eat it, reheat it, or give it to a mate”.
These have been the latest chants coming out of the mouths of TiR human fruits the past few months. Bert the Old Banana, Lady Land (A.K.A. Compostella), and Jessica the Californian Jazz Apple have been visiting theatres, after school clubs and community arts centres making noise and (literally) a ‘song and dance’ about how to prevent food waste in the UK.
And whilst they have been lamenting this terrible waste, extravagantly via pantomimic moments, they have equally been celebrating the great opportunities and offering real solutions for helping stop food waste.
These public events have been described using the theatre term of ‘scratch’ meaning they were part of a development process and we were keen for audience feedback. It has all been part of creating this interactive, edible foodie show for TiR’s Edible Education programme which seeks to communicate to kids about the realities behind food that is needlessly wasted in the UK, helping them to consider how as individuals and within their communities, they can take action to combat it.
Read on for the full story…
Bert, Jessica and Lady Land are the central characters, supported by Dot, Doris, Doreen and Deirdre – a gaggle of dinner ladies – some a little more outrageous than others! The show opens with Lady Land preparing for the Food Vision Song Contest, which she is desperate to win in order to communicate to the world about food waste and the life-cycle of vegetables, but not a natural musician, she needs some help to win. Bert and Jessica, as long-time song contest winners, step in to help, calling on the talents of the willing audience as choir and orchestra members. Together, Lady Land, Bert, Jess, dinner ladies, and audience come together to write lyrics, drum a beat (thanks to a selection of pots and pans, potato mashers and soup ladles) and create some dance moves of which the sternest of judges couldn’t resist! Once the song is ready for the competition, the audience is then broken up into smaller groups of peppers, carrots and broccoli and are whisked off on a whirlwind tour of the food system. Within these groups, they rotate around three stations learning about compost and its crucial role in continuing the food cycle with Lady Land, wonky veg (where over 20% of fruit is rejected by supermarkets simply due to cosmetic standards) with Jessica, and with Bert they learn about best before v. sell by dates and what to do with fruit that’s getting a little old. For some encouragement, Bert has a delicious selection of banana muffins made from surplus bananas, Jess has succulent apples canapés and Lady Land offers a super fruit juice.
TiR believes in communicating about food waste through feasting celebration in a way that inspires people to take action from feeling a sense of agency and empowerment as individuals and within their own communities. For more information on Edible Education, and if you would like to involve your school, please contact mickeyoreedy@gmail.com
