Festival Musical Walk: HerStory

Join us on an immersive musical journey along the Sailors' Path to Snape Maltings, learning and singing songs from new opera HerStory along the way. A film of HerStory will be screened in the Peter Pears Recital Room, Snape Maltings at 2pm.

HerStory documents the extraordinary exploits of Suffolk heroine Margaret Catchpole, who achieved notoriety when she stole a horse and rode it from Ipswich to London in 1797. Written by Suffolk-born composer Amy Mallett, the piece incorporates music, libretto, choreography and visual art co-created with members of the Parkinson’s community.

The coach, walk, film screening and lunch are all included in the ticket price.

Schedule

9.30am Meet the coach outside Snape Maltings Concert Hall. The coach will take walkers to the start of the Sailors' Path.

10am – 1pm Walk back to Snape, singing along the way.

1pm Picnic-style lunch in the Trask Café at Snape Maltings

2pm – 3pm Screening of HerStory in the Peter Pears Recital Room at Snape Maltings with an introduction by Amy Mallett

There will be stops along the route for singing and a break. Walkers will need to carry their own water and snacks. The route involves grassy and woody paths and some stiles, it is just over 4 miles in total. A wet weather plan will be passed on to bookers if necessary.

Sorry no dogs except assistance dogs.

About the film

HerStory is an opera film documenting the extraordinary exploits of historical Suffolk heroine, Margaret Catchpole, made with the creative talents of people living with Parkinsons.

Margaret Catchpole, who achieved notoriety when she stole a horse and rode it from Ipswich to London in 1797, inspires this new work written by Suffolk-born composer Amy Mallett. The piece incorporates music, libretto, choreography and visual art co-created with members of the Parkinson’s community.

The opera began its journey in an artist residency and workshop performance at Snape Maltings in 2019, after which the cast of community performers expressed their aspirations to use the piece to “show the world what people with Parkinson’s can do”.

During the pandemic, a series of online projects led by performance company Cohere Arts offered a valuable way of keeping cast members connected and active, whilst developing additional material for the opera. The HerStory community continued to grow as activity reached more participants living across the UK.

In 2022, supported by Arts Council England and partners Britten Pears Arts, English National Opera, Trinity Laban and MuMo Creative, HerStory was made into a film. Featuring 80 performers and artists living with Parkinson’s from Suffolk, London, Sussex, Oxfordshire and beyond; dance, music and animation are combined to explore themes of love, separation, seasons and journeys.

Amy Mallett artistic director & composer
John Fensom videographer
Nicola Wydenbach musical director
Sarah Lewis movement director
Emma Bernard dramaturgy
Simon Wild animator