Out Of The Darkness is an immersive audio installation taking place deep in nature at Heal Somerset, Heal Rewilding’s 460-acre foundation rewilding site. It is believed to be the first time that a night soundscape of wildlife has been played to an audience in a rewilding setting.

Each performance will take the audience on a wildlife night sound journey, blending the calls, growls, snuffles and squeaks of creatures from the present with others recently lost and, thrillingly, those that would have been familiar to ancient peoples who once lived in the landscape.

As night falls, the audience will be led by torchlight to the event space and take their seats for the 40-minute performance. They will first listen to any live night noises and then, out of the darkness, the sounds will begin.

Out Of The Darkness was developed by the Heal team in collaboration with award-winning creative director Robbie Sloan and sound designer Dan Swift, both volunteers. The event has been created as a provocation, to start a conversation about the profound changes that have happened almost imperceptibly in our countryside, raising awareness about nature loss and the benefits of rewilding to nature recovery.

Heal Somerset by Isabelle Spring

Jan Stannard, Heal’s Chair of Trustees and acting CEO, said:

“We hope that the audiences for Out Of The Darkness will have an unforgettable experience listening to a soundscape both familiar and lost from memory. The performance will also make the listener keenly aware of that loss, but at the same time, give them hope for the return of some of those sounds if nature is given new safe spaces in which to thrive, like the Heal Somerset rewilding project. We also hope that the work will bring new awareness of the power of rewilding and will encourage people to support our charity.”

Robbie Sloan, Creative Director, said:

“Embarking on this journey with Heal is a testament to the shared vision of restoring our connection with nature. We aim to transport audiences into the heart of the wild, bringing the symphony of wildlife into an intimate setting on the Heal rewilding site in Somerset. It is an incredible honour for me and the team.”

Dan Swift, Sound Designer, said:

“Our natural environment is under attack and we sometimes feel there is nothing we can do, so when this opportunity to design the sound for Out Of The Darkness came along it was easy to say yes. The theatre of the natural world has been given space to perform at Heal.”

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Bookings can be made online via the event page or through the Heal websites - www.healsomerset.org.uk_

Heal Somerset by Tom Francome