BATS Theatre cel­eb­rates 21 years of STAB annu­al com­mis­sions with a pro­duc­tion of The Rime of the Mod­ern Mar­iner by The Play­Ground Col­lect­ive. In this adapt­a­tion “the Mar­iner sets out to sea to catch the ulti­mate prize, but when he care­lessly fells an albatross a curse befalls his ship. Stran­ded in the north Pacific Gyre – a swirl­ing vor­tex of trash – the Mar­iner comes face to face with the over­whelm­ing con­sequences of our unthink­ing con­sump­tion. Afloat and alone in a for­got­ten mass of plastic he is stalked by the endangered creatures of the deep, haunted by ghostly appar­i­tions, and faced with an encroach­ing storm. If he hopes to sur­vive he must bear the weight of his actions and atone for his mis­takes.”

STAB fund­ing (thanks Cre­at­ive New Zea­l­and ) gives theatre com­pan­ies the chance to real­ise some­thing ambi­tious, exper­i­ment­al, or unusu­al. The videos I’ve seen on FB prom­ise music, pup­pets and a really intriguing set.