The Jurassic Journey touring show was launched at Lyme Regis’ iconic Marine Theatre on Thursday 10th February, in a special joint Artsreach and Villages in Action event featuring all the artists involved in the project.
Showcasing award-winning photographer Ben Osborne‘s extraordinary photography and film footage of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, Jurassic Journey is the culmination of a collaborative project nearly two years in the making, resulting in a stunning audio-visual presentation.
Sammy Hurden and a group of musicians performed atmospheric music created for the show live; Matt Harvey delivered some of his brilliant poems, and Lal Hitchcock’s skeleton puppets were danced to life on stage, with her two other creations Tilly & Cliff looking on. It was a sell-out, and brilliant to see so many people! Since the launch Ben has been taking the show on tour solo, to village halls across Devon and Dorset, and has had resounding success with many halls packed to the rafters. Feedback and response so far have been excellent; people are enjoying the mix of the artistic elements with Ben’s anecdotes and brief geology lesson in layman’s terms (involving ham sandwiches!). Many have said that they now feel inspired to get out and explore more of the Jurassic Coast as a result of seeing Jurassic Journey, which is a fantastic result.
Jurassic Journey has just successfully secured a Heritage Lottery Fund grant to develop a touring exhibition of the work. This will be coming to a venue near you, be that your village hall, or one of the bigger venues on the coast: Kennaway House and the Fine Family Foundation Gallery at Durlston Castle.
Daisy Sutcliffe, Jurassic Coast Arts Coordinator
