Skelf Summer Theatre!

Castle Howard 2022

The Brief

We absolutely love working with the Skelves narrative at Castle Howard and we were delighted in 2022 when the team asked us to create a new offering which would re-introduce the concept of the Skelves to new audiences as well as drawing audience to a new dwell point in the grounds.

What We Did

Our approach was to go back to the original Skelf character descriptions from 2019 and ask writer, Barry Shannon, to create an origin story which would expand the mythology of their hidden world. We worked with the grounds team at Castle Howard to create a summer theatre space in a secluded position by the lake which would offer audiences a different experience from our adventures in Ray Wood. The theatre piece – Tales of the Tawny Owl – was accompanied by drama and music workshops inspired by the natural world and also delivered by the Skelves.

The Result

We had a wonderful summer introducing new audiences to the Skelves every weekend and encouraging the philosophy of shared responsibility for the natural places in the world! The theatre space proved a lovely addition to the family offer and the Skelves proved again the versatility and durability of the initial concept!