Mon 23 Sep

Dreaming of the fells

Ruth Halsey came and saw Dreamtime Fellrunner and then wrote about it for Stagey Lady. Photos by Stephen Wilson.

What a tour de force is Julie Carter! The Dreamtime Fellrunner is a one-woman show (almost) which she has written and now performs from the heart. It is part of Cumbriafest, a new writing festival that showcases work developed and supported by Theatre by the Lake.

Julie is a doctor, poet and celebrated fell runner who is now a member of Cumbrian Creatives. This started off as a poem and developed into a play and a book. It’s an intensely personal monologue about Julie’s journey as a fell runner, intertwining her love of running on the fells with the history of the sport (‘is it a sport or a philosophy?’) the aesthetics of the landscape – the land art, the spiritual, mind/ body connections but also encountering ageism, sexism and ableism along the way.

The Dreamtime Fellrunner is a mesmerizing, complex outpouring of emotions, passion, bordering on obsession, thoughts and reflections on what it is to be a female who runs on the fells.

“It is both fascinating and truly inspirational.”

There are moments of humour with cameo roles by two other fell runners who are described as if they are a sub-species of humans in the style of David Attenborough: ‘Fell runners only survive in the wild, they will die in captivity.’

There are historical and literary references, even physiological information about how the brain processes instructions while running. This show is directed by Daniel Bye and is a Mindfell Production supported by Theatre by the Lake and The Arts Council.

You don’t have to be a runner or a poet to appreciate this play, it is just a delight to listen to personal thoughts and ideas, spoken with such openness and honesty in a very clever manner. It lasts about an hour, then a break followed by a Q and A with time for reflection on your own journey, relationship with the outdoors and the pleasure and rewards it has given you.

Following the performances at Theatre by the Lake the show will tour a number of venues in 2025:
Washington Arts Centre Sunderland February 13
Fort William Mountain Festival February 16
Eastgate Theatre Peebles February 20
The Story House Chester February 28
Darlington Hippodrome March 23

Also touring Cumbria through ‘Arts Out’ and ‘Highlights Rural’ in spring – watch out for dates and venues.

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