Lauderdale House has received Arts Council funding to develop a new project. In due course, GARDEN FOR THE GARDENLESS will be a performance in and designed for Waterlow Park next September which will involve over 100 members of the community as performers and musicians, and provide student placements (if we can raise the full funding). It will be a promenade show – audiences will walk along a route that stops at various sites in the park and gardens; at each site will be a short performance and the accumulation of all these performances tells a series of stories. A large portion of this show involves music, both live and recorded.

It’s potentially a really exciting way of bringing our local communities together.

This stage is a development phase – Lauderdale House want to involve as wide a range of people as possible and would be delighted if you could help by introducing them to:

• local musicians and music groups who might be interested in being involved in some way in the future. It is a very early stage with nothing yet written but we’re keen to make contact with north London music makers. Our composer Felix Cross – https://www.felixcross.org/  – is a great guy and excited to see who is doing what – everyone from church choirs to African drummers and organists!
• local people from different backgrounds who use and/or have interesting stories focussed around Waterlow Park, Lauderdale House and the cemetery. The project’s Director Geraldine Pilgrim – https://www.geraldinepilgrim.com – personally treasures the Park and is keen to meet as wide a range of people as possible, as her inspiration comes from local history and from how people feel about the park today.
• Local groups who might help us spread the word amongst their members when we are looking for non musicians to take part.

The show (which we also hope to digitise so it’s available long after the actual event) will take inspiration from the history of the House, the Park and the cemetery alongside more recent stories.  It’s therefore really important that we reach as many different people as possible.

We’re also working out a raft of logistics and mechanics of creating an engaging digital version.

The first step is for Director, Geraldine Pilgrim and Composer Felix Cross to meet people, hear their stories and find out who does what locally, so I’d be enormously grateful for any introductions, suggestions and/or offers of help to spread the word or get involved in due course.

Contact Lauderdale House at kives@lauderdale.org.uk