Riverlandia

This immersive fictional sound story tells the tale of a river valley at a time of ecological change, as narrated by ten of its human and non-human inhabitants. It follows a teenage girl who is struggling to fit in at school and is uncertain about her future, but who finds meaning in the landscape. Voices in the sequence of monologues include the river itself, a bullhead fish, a dragonfly, an alder tree, sheep, and a skylark, as well as the teenage girl and a ranger. A starry and diverse cast of actors and comedians includes Gemma Whelan, Mike Wozniak, Spencer Jones, and Bethany Antonia. The rich, spatial soundscape was designed by Nicholas Allan, incorporating the sounds of the National Trust’s Holnicote Estate in Somerset, which inspired the story, and sounds from the British Library’s sound archive.

Commissioned by The National Trust. Funded by the Green Recovery Challenge Fund.