Barrow - my piece for the exhibition ‘Performance as Protest’, accompanied by a small section of a longer soundtrack. Plant dyed Irish linen with batik, birch, blackthorn, earth. Audio written and sung by me. In an economic system built upon constant growth, the act of decay is a protest. In Celtic folklore, the cauldron of creation lies at the centre of the Otherworld, in the darkest place. All life and creativity springs forth here from the deep. Light comes from darkness, growth comes from decay. The people who walked these lands 6000 years ago paid attention to this fine balance, this cycle, by marking the solstices, summer and winter, and building monuments aligned to their sunrises. In this piece, I invite visitors to enter the barrow, go inwards, be inscendant. Put the headphones on and allow themselves to fall into the darkness and to find, in the deepest place, pure potential. The fabric is decorated with my own designs as well as Ogham - a runic script used between the 4th and 9th centuries in Britain and Ireland. Some believe it to have been used by the Druids (from Duir, the Celtic root word for oak). It is said that each rune represents a tree, so it is known as the tree alphabet. Trees are coming more and more into my art and performance making. Expect to see more Druid things soon. Thank you to @filmmakerfinn @finnisferal for helping me edit and record the audio, and thank you my house @sthallarsen @elsalalalalalalalalala and Finn for putting up with the cabbage dye smell. And thank you Ruth for your lighting tips. Love you all 💕

Another year another PDP panto, this time performing with a dream team of fairy godmothers @yu__lou and Tori. This year I honed my creative producer skills and worked with a fabulous crew of second years to write and direct this original show. Thank you so much to all the wonderful cast and crew from across all years of PDP, love ya honeys, can’t believe we made this in a few days xox Cheers @itstheaevans for the lovely photos 🍻

Here’s some highlights from my Film Noir piece for the Collective with a few extra behind the scenes photos put in. This production took blood, sweat, tears, over 50 amazing people, learning, time and dedication. Thank you to everyone who made it possible and turned up to watch. I will say: playing a femme Fetale is oh so Kitty Churchfield ♥️ Film Noir piece: Thea Evans: (Kitty Churchfield) @itstheaevans // @kitty.chrch - Concept, Producer, Sound Designer, Researcher, Actor-Director, Film Noir Woman Tzu-Han Horng: @violet.tzuhan - Concept, Researcher, Projection Designer, Green Screen Operator, Box Operator, Co-Director Joe Adams: @the__real__joe - Actor, Film Noir Man Ethan Bailey-Smith @ethanbaileysmith & Aisa Casserly @art.by.aisa - Costume Design and Styling Polly France: @thingsthatpollymakes // @pollyfronk - Hair Designer Bahar Erikci: @baharerikcii - Set Design and Prop Assistant Red Hill: @redsbraindump // @dawn_of_the_red - Makeup Designer Danny Campbell Fox: @dannycfx - Smoke Operator and Stagehand Photos by @reysnowhere and gracezzzchou @redsbraindump Special thanks to @juliapergjoni @sonny.maximus and zoerozier as well as Ruth, Pete, and all the Technicians for making this show possible Production for @csm_news @performancecsm #filmnoir #performance #femmefetale #theatredesign #vintageart #theatre #actor #oldschool #photography #london #csm #centralsaintmartins #talent

A look behind the scenes at the hair I did for Rise. This was set in 1930 on the outbreak of WW2. Thank you to all the beautiful actors for sitting so patiently for me! You can watch the film via the 🔗 in my bio. #shortfilm #ww2 #worldwartwo #worldwarii #peace #productiondesign #showreel

A look at the set builds for short film Rise, available now at the 🔗 in my bio. Directed by Pip Nixon, produced by Finn Broadley, and production designed by me. Thank you to the cast and crew for taking great care of the sets, and to @filmmakerfinn and @otiscw_ for building the sets with me. #shortfilm #ww2 #worldwartwo #worldwarii #peace #productiondesign #showreel #setdesign

This is a snapshot of the production design from Rise, a short film set in World War Two. Watch the film and showreel via my bio. Production design by me, Polly France Directed by Pip Nixon Produced by Finn Broadley Cinematography by Brandon Gannon Sound design by Finn Broadley For full credits watch the full film on YouTube via my bio. Thank you to everyone who helped with the design and creation of this film! #shortfilm #ww2 #worldwartwo #worldwarii #peace #productiondesign #showreel

FALLLOW This film was created by CSM students as part of the creative unions project. We wanted to raise awareness of how capitalism promotes permanent growth in all areas of life. In nature, growth must happen in cycle with decay in order for life to continue. Perhaps humanity needs to reimagine what our fallow periods could look like. Might we rethink our obsession with constant growth? We are part of nature, after all. Thank you to everyone who worked on the film! Poetry, direction - Polly France Research - Polly France, Rob Parker Brown, Madelyne Klein Camera - Anna Fenster, Polly France, Robert Parker Brown, Madelyne Klein, Sherry Rong, Yoonji Lang Sound - Robert Parker Brown Editing - Anna Fenster Voice - Roger Swadling To watch it outside of a reel see my bio.

The Sisterhood Project, episode III was a collaboration between @elsa.does.art and I, and a culmination of previous research, devising and performances. Our intentions were to bring the audience into relationship with each-other and the land, and to explore our own sisterhood. This ritual included costumes made by me and water from the stream that we used to play in as children. It was part of a performance festival by @performancecsm . I first took the audience outside the theatre by asking them to take place in a Celtic ‘rolling hum’ whilst walking, including them in the soundscape. I met Elsa on the grass, walking towards each-other and singing wordlessly, before raising the bowl of water to the sky and splashing eachother with it. We then invited the audience to connect with the earth by each taking an audience member’s hand and guiding them to the ground. For the full performance including some of the journey outside see my bio.

Costumes I made for the third performance of the sisterhood project. I took inspiration from the water and the land that the previous performances had taken place on. Swipe for some of the process, a makeup test, and the making of felted moss.

The Sisterhood project, episode II This performance was again a collaboration between @elsa.does.art and I, this time in the same location suspended between north and south London - millennium bridge under another full moon. This was a ritual of sisterhood. The river Thamesis is formed further upstream of two sisters, the Thames and the Isis. We, two sisters met above her at the moment of high tide on the full moon, when the water beneath us was greatest, and sung, spoke and cut our hair into the water. This water connected us to all people and all rivers flowing beneath London. We sung a true reflection of the Thamesis. We performed poetry which reflected the pain and pollution of the river. And yet despite the pollution, within her power remains the playful energy of the streams that feed her, so we paid homage to this. We walked towards each-other across the bridge. Two rivers meet to form one. The river meets the sea at high tide on the full moon. Waters mix. In this meeting we are also joined to the river in our sisterhood. Our DNA mixed with the water. Finally, we splashed each-other with water from the fleet brook, offered up to the the moon. Our performance included various elements devised through collaging story, song and intuition.

Episode I of the Sisterhood Project, a collaboration between @elsa.does.art and I. My half is on YouTube now through the link in my bio. 1 - the performance 2,3 - the poster designed by us 4 - the full moon 5 - location research 6 - the river fleet near its source, at the performance location during daytime. This project was an exploration of the way we collaborate as sisters, but also of wider themes of sisterhood shared with people and land. In this iteration, we performed in two separate locations, connected by the waterways that flow throughout London, on the moment of the fullest moon. We each told stories that our chosen locations had gifted us. In my case, this was a song that I wrote by the stream that feeds the river fleet, and a folk story. The Elucidation, a folk story recorded in the early 13th century by Chrétien de Troyes in the form of a poem, is an old tale. It speaks of streams and rivers, and I believe teaches us that the patriarchy’s disrespect for women and humanity’s pillaging of the land come from the same root. In order to prevent ecological destruction and liberate women, we must restore the natural balance of give and take, the unwritten contract between people and land that folklore is so certain of. I told this story in my own words in this performance. As the river had gifted me the song I sung, I gave the river water collected from the ravensbourne, where Elsa was performing, balancing the cycle and connecting us across space.

Went rambling in the bluebell woods and told a story 🪻 The Elucidation was recorded in the late 12th century by Chrétien de Troyes as the prologue to Le Conte du Graal - the story of the grail. Hear it in my own words via the 🔗 in bio. This is part of a project about the revival of ancient folk traditions in an attempt to bring back humanity’s relationship with the land. Go frolick in the flowers 🪻