Radio Ballad: Field Work in the Fens

Beginning with the over-cultivation of the fenland landscape in the wake of the Second World War, Radio Ballad 003: Field Work in the Fens tells a story of friction, resistance and an ongoing struggle for power, taking the audience on a journey through peasantry society, crop science, countercultural obsession with houseplants and 1970s pulp and folk horror to challenge and transform our understanding of human’s place in natural society.

Presented in a live listening format, Radio Ballad 003 is an exploration of the collision between humans and the natural world of plants that takes place within the Anthropocene.

“No witchcraft, no enemy action had silenced the rebirth of new life in this stricken world, the people had done it themselves”
— Rachel Carson, Silent Springs

Featuring contributions from Dr Aoife O’Driscoll and Dr Emily Bourke, and music from the Shackleton Trio.

An original eels production (2022)