Community play to give Tewkesbury residents a voice

A new community-based theatre performance exploring Tewkesbury’s long relationship with the River Severn – and how the town can adapt to future environmental challenges – takes place at The Roses Theatre on 18 March.

Co-developed by the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) and shaped through months of workshops working with residents, the play ‘River Stories – A Town Called to Speak’ invites the public to join conversations about the town’s future. The event will be a lively community gathering followed by creative audience interaction, to see how people locally can adapt to change together.

Tewkesbury is well known for experiencing severe floods - a common occurrence for hundreds of years - but the town is also facing other environmental challenges. 2025 was named as the third hottest year in contemporary climate history and even traditionally water-rich communities like Tewkesbury were pushed towards drought.

Against this backdrop, academics from UWE Bristol were awarded funding by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to bring community experiences into climate-related decision-making through theatre and community engagement.

The result is ‘River Stories – A Town Called to Speak’ - a living script, born from stories shared as part of a series of creative workshops run with senior members of the community and pupils at Queen Margaret Primary Academy in Priors Park.

“The people of Tewkesbury are no stranger to floods. We’ve had some of the worst. But we are like…the swans” - quote from an elders’ workshop held at The Roses Theatre.

They explored themes through drama, role‑play, writing, art, mapping and even by giving the river, land and wildlife a voice. Their words – from the river’s plea ‘don’t pollute me’ to heartfelt reflections on floods, droughts and hopes for future generations – form the script of the performance.

Professor Lindsey McEwen, professor of environmental management and project lead, said: “Currently, the local knowledge held in conversations like this – free-flowing, meandering, and specific to place – is vastly under-valued. When it comes to making decisions about adapting to environmental challenges and responding to the risks of climate change, water companies, policy makers and politicians need to be listening to local communities in ways that are meaningful and impactful.

“Through this project, local people, young and old, have shared all sorts of stories – ones that are often kept within homes, at playgrounds, and in cafes and pubs. Our aim is to bring these stories to the surface and offer different ways for the community to connect and communicate.”

The UWE Bristol researchers have worked closely with Ingrid Jones, a theatre maker and writer from acta community theatre in Bristol, and The Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury to deliver the workshops and create the play, which will be performed by UWE Bristol drama students and graduates.

Student Lara-Jean Strawson added: “The script is so beautifully written – it’s got so many core elements of the community’s voice: what they are saying, feeling, and experiencing. Being able to see the photos and videos gathered during the project have given the words more meaning. It deepened my understanding of the community, of what it looks like and how we can play a role in portraying that to an audience.”

The event also opens space for deeper reflection on how Tewkesbury can adapt to environmental challenges, including extreme weather, rising temperatures, and shifting seasonal patterns. Community stories – from the droughts of the 1970s to the devastating 2007 floods – highlight the need for locally grounded knowledge to play a greater role in shaping future planning.

And now, the views of the wider community are being sought through this event to develop the newly formed ‘Tewkesbury FuturesLab’ further.

Through the FuturesLab, participants are invited to consider:

• What it means to live well with change
• How adaptive thinking supports local resilience
• How creativity sparks new ideas and collaborations
• How intergenerational knowledge strengthens communities
• Who else in Tewkesbury needs to be part of these conversations

Members of the public are being encouraged to come along to the performance at The Roses Theatre, join the conversation and take part in the hands-on activities which start from 4.30pm on 18 March.

Megan Dunford, creative health and community producer at The Roses Theatre, said: “We are thrilled to be an active partner in this event, looking at how our shared stories of the river and its relationship to our town and community can spark conversation, creativity and change. This will be a vibrant evening, and we welcome everyone and anyone to add their voice to the conversation.”

For a free ticket visit The Roses Theatre website, email boxo@rosestheatre.org or call (01684) 295074.