Nest - an immersive outdoor theatre production from LEEDS 2023
"Picture a stadium show, but without the stadium, set against the backdrop of the evening and night sky, surrounded by the stunning natural environment. We have a talented cast of around 100 young performers who are driven by a strong desire to tell stories that promote positive change." - Paul Roseby, Director
From 5 to 9 September, RSPB St Aidan’s Nature Park will play stage to an immersive outdoor theatre production. LEEDS 2023 has partnered with National Youth Theatre to present Nest, a large-scale theatre show exploring climate change and migration, that promises to be a highlight of our city’s Year of Culture.
Nest explores the climate crisis from the perspective of young people. Set in the year 2050, the story surrounds Skylar, who is attending a bird watching festival following the loss of their grandmother. As the audience is guided through various scenes across the site, the show will make you question our relationship with nature as we face the environmental emergencies of the immediate future.
St Aidan’s is the perfect location for Nest, which has been designed and written specifically for the site. Transformed into a nature park from a historic coal mining site in the 1980s, St Aidan’s shows what can be achieved with a bold, sustainable attitude towards conservation. This is the first time St Aidan’s has hosted a show like this. With music, visual projections and performance designed with maximum sensitivity to the resident wildlife, Nest will guide you across this hidden gem in East Leeds, for a rare after-hours tour of St Aidan’s.
There are more than 100 members of the cast, brought together through their desire to tell stories and bring positive change. In addition to the performers, young people between 17-30 are also taking charge of backstage operation, stage management, and design. The cast of Nest were recruited from across Leeds and West Yorkshire through an open call-out from Leeds Playhouse. There’s also been additional casting from Compass Collective, who work with unaccompanied minor refugees and young people seeking asylum. The experience of these young people has informed the story itself, which will appear in moving, yet inspiring ways.
A project as unique as this rarely happens in Leeds. Audiences will be enraptured by this beautiful wildlife haven, exploring the paths and ponds of St Aidan’s, the story unravelling in real time around the park. Nest will be an unmissable performance, and another project that ensures the Year of Culture lives long in the city’s memory.