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HerStory is an opera film showcasing the creative talents of people living with Parkinsons. The piece, by composer Amy Mallett, incorporates music, libretto, choreography and visual art co-created with 80 members of the UK Parkinson’s community. The opera’s narrative is inspired by the extraordinary exploits of historical British heroine, Margaret Catchpole, who achieved notoriety when was found guilty of stealing a horse and transported from England to Australia in 1801. 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. In 2022, supported by Arts Council England and partners Britten Pears Arts, English National Opera, Trinity Laban and MuMo Creative, the opera was made into a 30-minute film. www.coherearts.org/projects/herstory

A short film documenting the first live performance of Witchfinder in its revived form with full professional cast and community chorus at Walpole Old Chapel, Suffolk in May 2022. Supported by Arts Council England, Ipswich Museum and Friends of Walpole Old Chapel. Written and composed by Amy Mallett Directed by Emma Bernard with Sandeep Gurrapadi - Matthew Hopkins Robert Gildon - Reverend Gaule Nicola Wydenbach - Rebecca West Claire Bessent - Betsy Gooding Emily Bennett - John Stearne/Violin Lars Fischer - Andrew Leech Clare Burman - Mary Goody Tom Appleton - The Judge Musical direction by Tom Appleton Cello: Hattie Bennett Guitar: Karl Younger Piano: Kieran Stallard Produced by: Philly Storey Production Assistant: Imogen Hayward Stage Manager: Silki Morrison BSL Interpreter/Performer: Kate Collier Also featuring: Singers from Jubilee Opera, Holton St Peter Primary School, Stage Coach Woodbridge, members of Unscene Suffolk and The Cut Choir as our fabulous community chorus. For more info visit: www.coherearts.org/projects/witchfinder

Copy & paste link to access: https://vimeo.com/651060572/16132df1dc Producer, Director & Facilitator: Sam Moss Filmmaker: Roswitha Chesher Choreography: Sam Moss & the dancers Composer: Amy Mallett 114 dancers aged 2 to 80 take us on a journey from open heath to wide river shore, woodland to arable land, flowered meadow to ancient oak in a celebration of Suffolk landscapes & the wildlife within them. Whilst the film is made up of short sections it is best viewed as a whole. Filmed in June & July 2021 on location between Ipswich and Dunwich, Suffolk. Live screenings September & October 2021. Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, by Ipswich Borough Council Area Committee Fund, DanceEast and Suffolk Libraries. Copyright Sam Moss & Roswitha Chesher 0:00 Title 0:27 Young children and their grown-ups in a meadow introduce Dandelion 0:45 Dandelion 2:04 Child in a tree followed by Ivy 3:20 Owl 4:58 Young children exploring an ancient cedar, followed by older children exploring the coniferous park 6:53 Fern A: a group of solos 9:14 Journeying through Suffolk landscapes 9:58 Lark 11:52 Young children find silky gloves belonging to Adder, which follows 13:40 Fern B: a trio of trios 15:08 Child with a feather fan introduces Magpie 17:05 Rook 19:17 Kingfisher 20:47 Journeying through more Suffolk Landscapes 21:10 Otter 21:41 Young children with flying hands, followed by Starling 24:40 Young children enjoy munching blackberries introducing us to Bramble 26:29 Young children in the last part of their exploration, with a ‘buzzy bee’ moment 26:44 Fern C: small groups & unison group 28:37 The Oak Spoke 30:15 Credits & a story about the inspiration and strength drawn from nature 31:18 Post credit scene: young child 31:30 Ends

This is a short documentary about making an audio recording of the music theatre work Witchfinder at Walpole Old Chapel in July 2021. A professional cast were joined by an intergenerational community chorus from the local area including children from Holton St Peter Primary School, and members of Unscene Suffolk, a theatre company for visually impaired adults. The project was generously supported by Heritage Lottery Fund with thanks to Friends of Walpole Old Chapel. A Cohere Arts CIC project www.coherearts.org

A short film about the Witchfinder Soundworld project by Cohere Arts. Funded by Arts Council England, Witchfinder Soundworld was a collaboration with Cohere, Unscene Suffolk and sound artist Simon Keep. Book, music and lyrics for Witchfinder by Amy Mallett. www.coherearts.org.

A film made by CARVE coLAB as part of our project HerStory: The Catchpole Chronicles, an opera for performers living with Parkinson's. Read more about the project here: https://carvecolab.home.blog

A Creative Collaboration between Karen Louise Dance and Anna Rowe Dance. The Arts Council England funded project. A site-specific, interactive and immersive performance in Suffolk woodlands, involving a cast of 25 dancers from the local community.