LFT PRODUCTIONS.....in lockdown, for now!

Alan Rickett and I started LFT Productions (a not-for-profit company) in Islington where our children went to school. It's a fairly leafy inner city part of London and a nice place to live. Well that was what we thought until we discovered the whole Borough had been declared an Air Quality Management Area. It had concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM 10) that exceeds the UK air quality standards. Rather worrying!

We decided to do something practical, so we set up the LITTLE FIR TREE PROJECT. The aim being to counter air pollution by raising awareness, support the Woodland Trust tree planting initiatives, and ‘Bring Forest magic to the Inner City’.

We had the thought to use Little Fir Tree, a new musical for family audiences co-written by myself and David Stoll as a vehicle for getting the green message across. Our mission statement was hatched:

‘To inspire children through storytelling and the power of music to understand the importance of trees in our cities and support the Mayor’s/ and the Woodland Trust's tree planting initiatives’.

We ran a successful programme of workshops in local schools. We also produced the concert premiere of Little Fir Tree at Kings Place in December 2018. Sylvester McCoy was our guest narrator, leading a cast of actors, singers and musicians. The production directed by David Ian Neville played to full houses!

Following the success at Kings Place we have been exploring how to develop the project further and mount a full production of Little Fir Tree, both in London and further afield.

‘Lockdown’, has been a double edged sword. Nature has reasserted itself and the air quality has definitely improved. We are all grateful for that. However, the downside is that not-for-profit companies like ours are finding it hard to get funding due to the pandemic.

That said, the musical ‘Little Fir Tree’ is very much alive and ready for production. As it is set in a magical forest in Winter, it could easily flourish as an immersive outdoor festive experience, or a wonderful indoor theatre show for all the family. Do get in touch if you think that sounds exciting and are interested in backing or co-producing a future production.

For more information see about the show click here

Meanwhile, here’s a song from the show, sung by EMMA STEVENS called ‘FOREST OF DREAMS' to whet your appetite!