Gareth's Culture and Travel Blog

Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park is probably my most extraordinary venue in a lifetime of site-specific theatre. Opened 175 years ago, no-one has been buried here for fifty years and it is now a wooded and overgrown nature reserve with many paths running through it. As it got darker, it became even more atmospheric, as we walked in silence from one ‘station’ to another to see acrobats in trees & on the ground, choirs and soloists singing, dance & movement, video and sound installations. It was eerily beautiful.

The dampness of recent days added a musty smell. The lit rooms of bordering houses sometimes came into view and at one moment we glimpsed the towers of Canary Wharf. Towards the end a three-quarter moon shone brightly between the tall trees. The three walking groups eventually came together in a clearing for onstage acrobatics accompanied by the choir, to end the evening.

Though I admired the skilfulness, I’m not sure the final scene added much and was a bit long, as I was by now very tired. There was a lot of walking on rough ground and you had to take care in the dark. The silence was occasionally broken by individuals incapable of keeping their traps shut or phone off or camera unused, but not enough to mar an extraordinary experience in an extraordinary venue.