Sarah is Composer In Residence at Scarborough's South Cliff Gardens.

In Autumn 2021, musician Sarah Dew and writer Charlotte Oliver led a group of Young Carers with their families on a community ‘Wild Walk’ through Scarborough’s South Cliff Gardens. 

During the walk Sarah took audio recordings of comments of the participants, along with sounds of the gardens and surrounding area. 

Guided by Charlotte, the families composed lines of poetry which Charlotte later collated into a beautiful sensory poem, ‘From the Star Map to the Italian Gardens’.

Sarah then blended delicate melodies with the recorded poem and field recordings, to create an ambient piece of audio reflective of the community and space in and around the Italian Gardens. 

The audio work was premiered during the opening of the community hub 'Beeforth's Hive' in February 2023, along with an exhibition of Charlotte's community postcard project: 'Dear South Cliff Gardens', with accompanying poetry. 

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In Autumn 2022, Sarah and Charlotte accompanied Scarborough's Early Onset Dementia Group on a walk through the South Cliff Gardens, along the accessible route and down to the Spa, where dolphins were spotted! Sarah captured recordings of ambient sounds and of the members of the group discussing their sensory impressions and surroundings as they walked. Charlotte then arranged the words of the group into song lyrics. Sarah wrote a song to contain the words, which then became part of the larger audio. It was a special afternoon of wild waves seaward; crunchy leaves underfoot; much joy and many laughs with a fabulous group of people.

 

Writer/poet/performer Charlotte trained in Theatre at Hope St Actors' Centre and National Youth Theatre. Commissions include BBC Radio York, on which she broadcast her weekly column, Home Sweet Home, over 2020/2021. She has written for Yorkshire Life and Dalesman. Her poetry collection, How To Be A Dressing Gown (Dreich), is out now. She has recently worked with Sarah on a collaborative radio ballad (‘The Dark Store’), supported by Arts Council England.

Twitter @charlotteolivr

Insta @charlotteoliverpoet

website www.charlotteoliver.com

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Image of Sarah by Tony Bartholomew.

Background image with thanks from Pixabay by 'Mabel Amber who will one day.' 

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