Seiners + Quarry Paths

This atmospheric multimedia show evokes memory of place in ghosted voices of the traditional
industries of the Purbeck and Portland quarries and stone yards, and the seine fishing crews and
mackerel on Chesil beach. Echo stories, place and atmosphere are experienced in a haunting
multitracked cello soundscape and dialogue between voice and cello. The memories transcend time and
come alive in the retelling in words, music and film, to speak about community, resilience and
relationship to landscape and coast.

Audiences say that even unconnected to Dorset, the stories and characters feel familiar, moving and
resonate. The communities and fishing and stone industry heritages connect the past to the present
and to the ecological future of our natural environment. These everyday working lives and industrial
landscapes become felt and real in the mythical and universal present as we remember them together.
The production was funded through Arts Council England grants and supported by residencies at
Sandy Hill Arts and Sanctuary R&D at Lighthouse Poole.

About Resounding Spaces:

Sarah Acton’s portfolio as writer and performer includes spoken word performance, consulting and
facilitating oral history, heritage and creative arts projects. Sarah’s passion for stone and sea connects with
the places and histories she encounters through underground exploration and over ten years’ research
practice committed to these stories and landscapes, expanding traditions of orality and storytelling to
celebrate local voices as a tool for everyday myth and empowerment in post-industrial landscapes. She is
the author of Seining Along Chesil (Little Toller, 2023)

Emily Burridge is a virtuoso cellist, composer, producer, and soundscape artist, also renowned for
incorporating looping technology to create multi-layered, organic cello soundscapes on stage. Her
productions often draw inspiration from the natural landscape, a theme she has explored since the early
1990s. She has an extensive background as a session musician and arranger, and has released multiple
albums both solo and collaborative as well as her music being used for film and documentaries.

Adrian Cooper is a film-maker, producing and directing work for Channel 4, BBC Films and the BFI. He is
also the executive director of the arts and environmental charity Common Ground, for which he conceived
and coproduced ARCADIA BFI (2017). Alongside this, he is editorial director and co-founder of Little Toller Books, a library of classic books on landscape, place and natural history plus new and debut nature
writing.