Albatross by Martha Loader
About Albatross
The question at the heart of Albatross: ‘what does one generation owe to the next?’
Martha Loader’s newest play, Albatross, follows the return home of a climate researcher, Alice, who is caught between the pull of her daughter and the urge to be a hero in the Antarctic.
The story plays out over one fraught night in rural East Anglia, in a kitchen bearing the hallmarks of recent floods - the very floods that Alice connects to her research.
With intersecting themes of climate change, care and contemporary motherhood, Albatross has all the makings of a modern classic.
Our 2026 tour of Albatross will raise understanding and debate about the impact of human activity on the climate, across the East of England, a region already feeling the effects of the climate crisis.
Our partners: British Antarctic Survey & the University of East Anglia
BAS (British Antarctic Survey) has supported Martha in the development of Albatross in an unoffical capacity since the very beginning of this project. They are now offical partners and will support on the development and delivery of pre-production workshops/talks for local communities. They will also create accessible information boards for the tour, relating to the themes of the play and real-world Antarctic research.
These boards and workshops will bring the world of Albatross directly to communities, allowing us to engage with them in multiple ways.
We will also be working closely with the Creative Writing Scriptwriting MA and Professor Steve Waters at UEA (University of East Anglia), taking up residence there for a week in November 2025. Our work with UEA will dramaturgically develop the play itself, alongside developing our own eco-conscious theatre practice.
About Martha Loader
Martha Loader was our 2024 commissioned playwright. She is currently working with us on her new play, Albatross, which we showed as a work-in-progress as part of Hotbed 2024 and will tour in May 2026!
Martha is a playwright, actor, and producer from Ipswich. Previous work has been presented by HighTide, Mercury Theatre, Menagerie Theatre Company, and INK. She is an Associate Artist of the New Wolsey Theatre, and has also the Almeida Theatre as part of their ‘Genesis New Playwrights, Big Plays Programme’. Her play BINDWEED won the Judges Award at the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2022 and toured the region in 2024, before playing at the Arcola Theatre, London.
Research & Development
Albatross is rooted in 2 years worth of research and interviews undertaken by Martha with Antarctic researchers from around the globe, including the British Antarctic Survey, based in Cambridge. Martha has intentionally interviewed many female researchers, including mothers, to understand their specific experience of working in the Antarctic.
Researchers Martha has spoken to include Dr Amelie Kirchgaessner, Dr Morgan Seag, Dr Rowan Whittle and more.
Martha has also worked alongside eco-theatre practitioners Dr Andrew Burton and Prof Steve Waters to develop this work. Steve is now an official partner on the project, offering in-kind dramaturgical support.
You can keep up with Martha and everything she’s up to on her Twitter (X) @MarthaLoader
Martha Loader talks all things Albatross
As part of her time as commissioned playwright, Martha led one of our 2024 Young Writers’ Workshop sessions in February of that year. After which, she sat down to speak with Sarah Saxby about Albatross, climate anxieties, feminism and her writing in general.
Set for Albatross is being created and designed by Essex based artist Chris Dobrowolski, who was part of BAS’s 2008/9 Artist & Writer’s Programme.
Chris in Antarctica in 2008.
DRŽ SE! (Hold On!) by Paul Bourne
DRŽ SE! is playing at The Municiple Theatre, Most, Czechia from March 2025.
An interactive play about hope, endurance, greed…and a very big pick-up truck.
Written & Directed by Paul Bourne
Translated and Dramaturged by Michal Pětík
Costume by Lucie Špalková
Set Design by Lukáš Kuchinka
Inspired by US contests, DRŽ SE! is a performance piece centred on a competition to win a £45,000 pick-up Truck.
DRŽ SE! is an incredible spectacle as 12 determined, half crazed contestants are pitted against each other to see who can keep their hand on a pick-up truck for the longest amount of time.
The rules are simple; whoever endures the longest, wins.
DRŽ SE! (Hold On!) premiered at The Municiple Theatre on March 7th 2025.
This show was first developed by Menageire Co-Artsitc Director, Paul Bourne, in 2005. In 2009, Anna Reynolds continued development of this show alongside Paul, now titled Stand By Your Van.This work proceeeded to recieve 5 star reviews for it’s run at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival that year.
Stand By Your Van was also shared at Hotbed Festival 2009 prior to it’s Edinburgh Fringe debut.
TOY STORIES by Chris Dobrowolski
Written and Performed by Chris Dobrowolski
Directed by Paul Bourne
Find out the next performance dates on Chris’ website
Toy Stories, Or How Not to Make a Living as an Artist is avaliable for touring!
Contact chrisdobo@gmail.com for more info and to book
Part stand-up comedy, part performance lecture, TOY STORIES takes the audience on an irreverent, powerful and hilarious storytelling adventure through art, contemporary politics, twentieth-century history and ...toys!
When all around you is falling apart, can childhood toys provide some sort of grounding? When fake news abounds and politicians lie routinely, who's to tell Chris that his creations are just pretend?
A dazzling journey from Scalextric to Nazis!
OUR SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS
Funding also provided by: The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust