Watching – Plants & Sleep – Botanics Stories

Watching (Photo by Andy Catlin)

Last night saw the final performance of Watching, a collaborative project between musicians, historians, sleep scientists and primary schools which began in January 2014. The Garden provided the ideal location for a show which took inspiration from the historical uses of plants to treat insomnia (or ‘watching’). The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh have worked with Edinburgh University’s Music in the Community on previous projects, including The Quicken Tree and Conference of the Birds. As with previous production music students worked with primary school pupils, this year from Leith Primary School, to create outstanding performances, including fantastic bats, badgers, moths and moles!

Watching (Photo by Andy Catlin)

“When we found out that we were doing Watching we were so excited and knew once we left primary school we would never forget this experience.”

Primary 7, Leith Walk Primary School

Watching (Photo by Andy Catlin)

Watching gave audiences the opportunity to experience the Garden as they never had done, being taken on a journey by talented performers, in beautiful costumes, with sets, lighting and sound that showed the Garden in a whole new way – it truly was a multi-sensory experience. It was a privilege to be involved in the hosting of this event at the Garden, working with an incredibly talented creative and production team… now to catch up on my own sleep!