Theatre show to 'celebrate' van-dwelling community

An original theatre production to "celebrate" the New Traveller community is opening tonight.

Maddie Wakeling, a van dweller and actor from Glastonbury, Somerset, will be performing Roadside at the Trinity Arts Centre in Bristol.

The one-woman show, inspired by Ms Wakeling's own experiences along with a council's calls for a ban on van dwellers, tells the story of a woman called Milly and her search for autonomy and a different kind of life.

"It's very rare that you have the opportunity to tell the story from the inside and say actually, this is how it is and this is our community," Ms Wakeling, 28, said.

New Travellers is a term often used to describe people who choose to live nomadically.

It also describes the community which came out of the free festival movement in the 1960s.

Ms Wakeling said she began planning the show in 2023 following calls to ban roadside dwellers from living in unauthorised areas in Glastonbury.

She said she chose to move into a van herself when she was 21 to allow her time to focus on her creative endeavours.

Councillor Lillith Osborn, leader of the Conservative group on Glastonbury Town Council, said recently she had received lots of complaints from some residents over issues such as anti-social behaviour to concerns about where people went to the toilet.

She said "van dwellers are not welcome in Glastonbury" and believes the town "reached saturation point some time ago".

According to Somerset Council, there are about 300 people living by the roadside or in unauthorised encampments in and around the town. It has the highest density of van dwellers in the UK.

The local authority wants to create a regulated site for dwellers, as part of the Glastonbury Town Deal.

In response to the proposals, Ms Wakeling began holding discussions with members of the van dweller community to gather inspiration for the play.

"I was really lucky to be able to sit down with a lot of people and chat, not just about what's happening now, but about all of the attempts to criminalise roadside dwellers that haven't worked before.

"I think there's a lot of fearmongering and powerful narratives against multiple groups of people - it's definitely not just roadside dwellers - but a lot of headlines and stuff that gives a bad view towards some groups of people.

"The show isn't about the ban - it's a celebration of the community," she added.

Ms Wakeling said she hopes the production will leave audience members reflecting on what home and belonging means to them.

It opens at the Trinity Centre on Friday night, before moving to The Cockpit Theatre in London on 4 April.

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