Six performances between 19-25 August 2025, Bucks Mills
Step off the map and into a world where stories wash ashore with the tide. This August, award-winning theatre company Burn the Curtain invites adventurers of all ages to The Wild Shore – a spellbinding promenade theatre experience set along the windswept cliffs and hidden woods of North Devon.
From 19–25 August, audiences will gather in the storied village of Bucks Mills, where whispers travel on the sea breeze and every turning path reveals a secret. Search for smugglers through ancient woodland, glimpse strange sea-born figures against the horizon, and uncover messages cast adrift by voices long lost to the waves.
“The Wild Shore is a theatre of tide and time – half folktale, half footsteps,” says the show’s writer Bernadette Russell. “It’s full of mystery and mischief, woven from the kinds of stories you might overhear in a harbour pub or dream after a day in salt water: stories from the sea, the woods, the earth, the flora and fauna as well as the people of this incredible place. This isn’t a show you sit and watch…it’s one you step into.”
As twilight falls, an age-old ritual begins: villagers and wanderers gather to receive the sea’s offerings – bottles cast ashore, each one bearing a memory, a warning, or a wish. But this year, a shadow looms. The relentless Customs Posse is on the hunt, determined to catch the elusive leader of a feared smuggling crew.
Winding through forest glades and echoing coves, audiences will encounter fearless fisherwomen, shipwrecked sailors and mythical creatures all brought to life by professional performers. Expect sea shanties, twilight trickery, and the thrill of the unknown.
The Wild Shore is the culmination of months of creative adventures, from wild swims to storytelling workshops, and follows the success of sister project Swim from the Wild Shore, where intrepid swimmers performed a ritual of theatre and myth in the open sea.
“We’ve seen an incredible response to this project so far,” says Claire Ayres, Creative Producer at Beaford Arts. “People are hungry for experiences that feel fresh, real and full of wonder. The Wild Shore is exactly that…it’s intimate, exhilarating, and deeply connected to this wild, beautiful place.”
This is theatre written on the wind, danced in the spray, and whispered through the trees.
Event Details
Dates: 19–25 August 2025
Location: Bucks Mills, North Devon
Produced by: Burn the Curtain in partnership with Beaford Arts
Written by: Bernadette Russell
Tickets & Info: https://www.beaford.org/