Bringing The Mushets to life: reimagining history through community drama

Directing this new audio piece by Mike Akers with a community cast of local performers from the Forest of Dean has been a magical discovery. It dramatises the lives of industrial pioneer Robert 'Forester' Mushet and his family, during the mid-19th Century. The piece journeys through decades, from 1856 to 1886, exploring the birthplace of the industrial revolution from the perspective of the family, who were instrumental in the globalisation and infrastructure of railways.

 
Pencil sketch of a crown of people depicted in clothes from the mid nineteenth century
 

Stills from the accompanying animation for The Mushets. Image Credit: Lucy Baxendale/Wyldwood Arts

And yet the name Mushet remains relatively unknown – unless you’re from the Forest, of course.

What excited me about The Mushets is that it’s told from the perspective of Lisowna, Robert and Mary Mushet’s eldest daughter.  With the benefit of an education and armed with a truth-seeking curiosity, Lisowna went on a radically brave and life changing quest to right what she saw as being a betrayal on her family.  

Robert ‘Forester’ Mushet had reluctantly taken on the mantle of managing the Darkhill and Titanic steel works after his father’s death, at a time when the Forest of Dean was a hotbed of industry and innovation, and when the high-quality steel being manufactured here was the envy of the world. ‘Forester’ felt obligated to continue to build his father’s enterprise and legacy, despite a lack of support from his siblings and an uneasiness with business and administration.  He was an incredible metallurgist and engineer, but not a natural mercantile thinker.

Working closely with his wife Mary, they discovered an invention that changed the shape of global transportation and industrial development. Despite this incredible accolade, his discovery was never truly celebrated, and many of his achievements are attributed instead to Henry Bessemer. Lisowna set out to make this right for her father. This quest for fairness and equality resonates today – encapsulating optimism and representing hope for a positive future. 

Initially the Mushets play was a ‘Celebrating the Forest’ project for Forestry England’s four-year Foresters Forest programme, and was intended to be a live performance to celebrate the ending of the project. But as with so many things over the last couple of years, the pandemic changed plans and a new idea unfurled – an audio piece. 

The creative team came together through Wyldwood – Mike Akers (Passing the Baton, The Road), Pat Moran (Passing the Baton), Nikki Ruck (Wyldwood podcasts and Editing and Sound Design), Film Animation by Lucy Baxendale (Wyldwood’s usual illustrator) and facilitator, and regular Film Maker Camilla Adams, with myself as Director. The process was much longer than anticipated and yet, this slower more investigative approach enabled us to gently build a cross-art collaboration – weaving narrative with audio, musical composition and visual.

Rather than having a fixed idea of a final product, we constantly reflected and reimaged. The online version of an audio piece allowed for an opportunity to animate a space online to create interest for the listener and ensure accessibility.

There’s been a real sense of unison with these stories and characters. When we were looking for our community cast, we wanted to ensure we reached as many people as we could - promoting auditions on social media and locally, with an overwhelming response. Due to the number of people we had auditioning we ran multiple sessions and edited the play to include multiple performers, adapting the script slightly. Reflecting the many facets of character and experiences, we had several performers taking the role of Lisowna. As a creative team and cast we felt it was important that Lisowna’s voice had a universality and was told from different perspectives.  

Rehearsals and auditions were held outside and on site at Gorsty Knoll and Darkhill. It felt important that we were able to connect and come together, in person, albeit at a distance to begin with, to bring this story to life. It also gave a sense of reverence to the experience, and it became obvious how much these characters and stories resonated and were nurtured by the cast.

What developed was a unique, intergenerational, and collaborative creative cast and team. Sarah Leyshon, playing Anne Powell, even rewrote her lines in Forest dialect bringing an inherent Forest voice to the piece. 

Reflecting on The Mushets and Wyldwood’s previous biographical play, Passing the Baton, it’s been a wonderful experience to bring these Forest characters to life. Creating these plays has been a powerful tool in helping to understand the area, across all elements of the Foresters Forest programme – from built heritage to geology. Eventually we hope to bring this piece to a live audience, as there’s an appetite for more community collaborations.  Individual and biographical stories offer a visceral connection to revealing the human condition – an opportunity to explore universal themes that unite communities through a shared and personal experience. 

** According to Krishna, a central character in the Bhagavad Gita, “It is better to do one's own dharma imperfectly than another's perfectly”. Your dharma may be as a protector, a healer, a carer, a fixer, a facilitator or any one of an inexhaustive list of roles you may fulfil within the community. 

book your seat

The premiere screening of The Mushets will take place at Studio Cinema in Coleford on the evening of Tuesday 22 February 2022, as part of a wider celebration of the legacy of the Mushet family in Coleford. 

The screening will be followed by a live Q&A with a panel of cast and crew, who will be taking questions and talking about both the story and the production process in more detail. The event will have BSL interpretation throughout. Tickets are free, but booking is required. 

To book, or for more information about this and the other events taking place in Coleford as part of the Mushet Celebration, visit: www.wyldwoodarts.co.uk/mushet

Get involved

Wyldwood Arts amplifies unheard voices and offer new perspectives, co-creating work with communities and individuals from all backgrounds, ages and with all types of lived experience. We are always looking for community members to be involved in our projects and help to develop new and inspiring creative projects in the local area.

Wyldwood arts is a member of the Create Gloucestershire network - find out more about them on their profile page.

Workshops & Events, Create LocalCaroline FedashForest of Dean, history, communtiy