Performance, Poetry and Art to create pockets of magic at Eden’s Summer of Celebration

A celebration of pop-up performance and theatre, from carnival and parkour to storytelling and dance, awaits visitors to the Eden Project this summer.

From July 19 to September 5, Eden’s gardens will provide a stunning backdrop to unexpected pockets of magic.

There will be captivating performances, short stories and poems and enchanting encounters with art.

Special shows in the Outdoor Gardens Arena will dazzle with dance, carnival, parkour and song.

Gallery spaces have been developed, enabling people to pause and enjoy Eden’s wide ranging and thought-provoking art collection.

Arts and culture have always been at the heart of Eden, and this summer the project is working with many creative cultural practitioners to re-ignite those emotional connections.

Writer Vanessa Kisuule has written four new poems for Eden and they, together with work by poets, artists and writers including master storyteller Wendy Shearer and Cornwall’s own Anna Murphy, will be staged and choreographed by Keziah Sereau with Manuela Benini and Rob Mennear.

These short pieces, each lasting three to five minutes, can be seen throughout the summer with performers bringing the words to life, and made extraordinary with costumes by the masters of Carnival, Mandinga Arts.

Inspiring artworks by artists Julian Opie, El Anatsui, Ryan Gander, Jenny Kendler, Peter Randall-Page, Tim Shaw and Studio Swine are displayed and invite conversation between the artwork, Eden and the visitor.

Among its best-loved are Infinity Blue by Studio Swine, the giant ceramic sculpture paying homage to one of world’s smallest organisms, cyanobacteria, and Seed, the seed-shaped granite sculpture created by Peter Randall-Page. Visitors will be invited to rediscover Aziza Gate, a group of carved sculptures by El Anatsui, which has undergone major restoration.

In addition Eden will host a variety of visiting artists. Urban Playground Group and their high energy mix of dance, physical theatre and parkour come to the Arena with two different shows; Zoo Humans 26 – 30 July and On the Strandline (a new commissioned by the Time & Tide Bell Organisation and Creative Civic Change) 22 – 27 August.

On 12 and 13 August, the Hall for Cornwall Senior Youth Theatre brings an irreverent whistle-stop performance of Cornish miracles Marthusow ha Mysteris, followed by a flourish of carnival with Mandinga Arts from 16 to 20 August.

Light Theatre present The Magic Beanstalk, promising puppets, science and magic, on selected dates from Saturday 24 July to Sunday 15 August. Separate tickets are required for The Magic Beanstalk performances, at £5 per person. All other performances are included within standard Eden admission.

Dr Jo Elworthy, Eden’s Director of Interpretation, said: “We’re so looking forward to welcoming visitors to experience the magic of Eden and its new cultural programme this summer.

“Thanks to the Culture Recovery Fund and Arts Council England we’ve been able to reignite our arts and culture programme. We’re inviting everyone to enjoy all the new and creative ways art and culture can help us to connect with the natural world.”

In April 2021, Eden received a £249,500 grant from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport through Arts Council England, through the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund. Aimed at having a positive impact on the sector now and into the future, the grant has been a huge boost for the organisation and its visitors.