The Woolmark Company
Theatre in a Burnt Forest
When 30 wildfires ravaged through the forests of Chongqing, we wanted to make sure that what’s lost was never forgotten.
In 2022, human-driven climate change generated unusually high temperatures that triggered 30 wildfires in the hills of Chongqing, and destroyed nearly 3000 acres of land, flora and fauna.
On Earth Day 2023, in memoriam of the centuries-old forests that were reduced to ashes, we collaborated with The Woolmark Company and the artists behind Sleep No More Shanghai to debut RETURN, a live immersive theatre performance inspired by the sustainable qualities of Merino Wool.
Cocooned in 100% natural and naturally biodegradable Merino Wool garments, three performers walk through the unpaved, damaged landscape, where they simultaneously disrobe and bury their garments in the soil—a sacred ceremony of returning the nutrients in the wool back into nature, a symbolic gesture of lifting some burden from the Earth, and an act of planting hope for the future.
RETURN is a story about our symbiosis with the world. An exclusive one-time-only performance witnessed only by a select group of journalists, that begins in nature, and returns from where it began.
Thank you, Wallpaper* for the special mention.
