We’re working with Bristol-based theatremaker and artist Tom Bailey on his ambitious new project, Threshold – A Wild New Border Journey.

Tom set off on March 17 on a journey of more than 600km across the Arctic borderland regions between Norway, Russia, Finland and Sweden by ski, sled, foot and boat. This ultra-slow, low carbon journey that will highlight climate change and the future of Arctic borderlands, rethinking how international cultural touring operates in a warming world.

The project engages with growing geopolitical debates surrounding Arctic borderlands as melting ice opens up new shipping routes, and countries contest the ownership of newly available resources.

Moving gradually through remote forests, frozen lakes and coastal mountains in the Nordic Arctic regions, Bailey will meet with local communities, artists and researchers, exploring people’s lived experiences in these borderlands, and documenting how environmental change is fast impacting the Arctic region.

The journey will include talks, workshops and performance at international festivals in Norway and Denmark, sharing Bailey’s experience during the journey, and advocating to influence new and creative ways of approaching sustainable touring practices. The research will culminate in a new performance piece, which will debut next year.

As Bailey progresses across borderlands during the spring, the physical design for this performance (responding to the landscapes encountered and the journey) will be simultaneously created by company designer Natasha Soonchild, working as an artist in residence in Kirkenes, northern Norway.

Threshold – A Wild New Border Journey is produced by UK theatre company MECHANIMAL with partners in Norway and Denmark, including Norwegian dramaturg Gulli Sekse and Aarhus-based ILT Festival in Denmark [https://www.iltfestival.dk/en/].

The work is also supported by international climate action non-profit Julie’s Bicycle, and funded by a joint venture between Arts Council England, Arts Council Norway and the Danish Arts Foundation.