Nature: A Walking Play

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Locations:	Multiple see below
Dates:	Friday, August 27, 2021 - Sunday, October 3, 2021
Ages:	Kids, Teens, Adults
In/Outdoor:	Outdoor
Cost:	$$ see below
Category:	Performances

The Trustees and TigerLion Arts present Nature, the mythic telling of Emerson and Thoreau’s mutual love affair with the natural world.

Having toured nationally in past years, this year’s tour of “Nature” is presented exclusively with The Trustees in the Greater Boston area.

The Tour begins with two weeks of performances at Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, MA, the site of a transcendental commune founded in 1843 by Bronson Alcott, who appears as a character in the play, and Charles Lane. August 27 - September 6, 2021

Next up, we travel to the North Shore to Appleton Farms in Ipswich with its rolling grasslands, grazing livestock, stone walls, vegetable crops and historic farm buildings offering a rare glimpse into New England’s agricultural past. September 10 - 19, 2021

Concluding the tour are performances at Francis William Bird Park in Walpole, where rolling fields lined by tree groves, a trio of ponds, and gurgling brooks provide a detour into nature in pursuit of play, no matter your age. September 24 - October 3, 2021

Grounded in the story of their friendship, this virtuosic production offers a perspective on their lives that is strikingly relevant, richly complex, and yet utterly simple. Nature is performed outdoors as a “walking play.”

A professional ensemble of actors takes the audience on a journey through the natural environment as scenes unfold around them. Bagpipes, ancient flutes, drums and rich choral arrangements are intricately woven into the experience.

The family-friendly play, which debuted for the first time on the East Coast at the Old Manse in the fall of 2017, is an original work collaboratively created and performed by Tyson Forbes, a direct descendant of Ralph Waldo Emerson whose grandfather, Patriot Minister William Emerson built the Manse in 1770.

Tyson created the play in collaboration with his wife, Markell Kiefer, who also serves as the director and it has not only won a regional Emmy for its PBS Documentary.

The play explores humankind's relationship to nature through the eyes of two of America’s greatest environmental voices and friends, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, who both lived and wrote some of their most famous works at The Old Manse, in Concord which served as a gathering place during America’s political, literary, and social revolutions.

COST

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Member Adult $36 Member Child $16 Nonmember Adult $45 Nonmember Child $20 Children Under 5 Free

WEBSITE

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thetrustees.org/program/nature-play/

LOCATIONS

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Harvard	---	map	102 Prospect Hill Road , Harvard, MA, 01451
Ipswich	---	map	219 County Road, Ipswich, MA, 01938
Walpole	---	map	Polley Lane, Walpole, MA, 02032

TIPS

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Important Information
This is an outdoor play, which involves walking to follow the action as it moves around the property. Performances are rain or shine, except in dangerous weather conditions. A cancellation decision will be made two hours prior to showtime and will be emailed to ticket holders, as well as shared on this page, and the Old Manse Facebook page.

REVIEWS

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Loved this play

I seriously loved everything about this play. From the impressive acting and the perfect location to the uniqueness of the 'walking play' element, it was like nothing I had ever experienced before. Every actor was top notch, from the leads to the ensemble. Made me appreciate the history of the characters, nature, and life on a whole new level. Celebrate this performance and see it before it leaves!