Courtyard Paradise
The newly renovated Tara Theatre in Earlsfield opens tonight with 'Paradise of the Assasins' - An adventure story of love, faith and betrayal.
We are delighted to have created a paradise of our own at our favourite local theatre and have transformed their courtyard into a hidden oasis of greenery. It has been our adventure story of love, faith and peat free compost.
We love to get involved with community projects locally where we can and meeting the team at Tara and seeing their vision of the new theatre was an honour. They have truly created a unique space where old meets new, east meets west and sustainability has been at the heart of it.
"Bringing together artists & audiences under the shade of our tree." There is a huge tree running through the entire building and they have included Sedum ('Green') roofs in the design alongside other sustainable measures.
Being located right next to the railway track, the courtyard features a wall of beautiful, old railway sleepers. We have interspersed one of our favourite plants, the Jasmine between the sleeper wall. This popular, sweet smelling climber is already reaching up to the top of the wall, softening and enclosing the courtyard.
NUGs founder, Rachel Collison, wanted the courtyard to be as green as possible and is a great supporter of the RHS National campaign ‘Greening Grey Britain’ where the public are encouraged to rethink concrete spaces and add in some plant life. “Living in an urban area people may be short on space or not have a garden as they perceive it to be but even if you just have front door step there should be room for a plant.” says Rachel “Plants and gardens have amazing benefits to our environment and wildlife, stimulate us visually and there are huge positives to our mental health too.”
Other climbers we have used include vibrant pinks, yellow and orange Honeysuckles all very Tara colours and evocative of Indian culture. “We wanted to continue the Indian themes through to the outdoor space.” Rachel explains “Even the organic Neem fertiliser we use comes from the Neem Tree in India.”
The plants are bee friendly which is of key importance to attract these much needed pollinators and we also feature our urban bird and insect boxes for creatures to find sanctuary alongside guests. Framing the impressive Indian wooden feature wall we used terracotta pots again with vivid coloured plants, which will be added to and changed with the seasons.
The Tara NUGs Courtyard will be open to the public pre-shows and in intervals along with the café/ bar.
Step through the Indian front door into a world of colour, where the small is global. Tara Theatre's 100 plush seats surround an earth floor for actors to weave their magic on. Its Studio offers opportunities for intimate rehearsals, small events and meetings, while its outdoor Patio - flanked by railway sleepers - lets in light and air in safe surroundings. Tara Theatre is home to a world of stories, from the classic to the new.
Please visit www.tara-arts.com for further information on Tara Theatre.
