From Toronto to Tenterden! Chatting with Edith Tankus
The theatre maker discusses her latest work WILD COUNTRY
I am fascinated by what drives creativity. I want to know about the spark that sets the creative project in motion and the motor that keeps it running. Many people will cite a story they read, a picture they saw or a piece of music they heard but for Edith Tankus the driving force was something much bigger!
Edith is a fascinating character. Originally from bustling, cosmopolitan Toronto she moved with her husband and two kids to rural Kent on the edge of the Romney Marsh. It is this move that inspired Wild Country her latest theatre work. It is a funny, insightful and timely fictional autobiography that charts the course of one woman’s midlife when she becomes pregnant and moves to the edge of a marsh.
Wild Country is a larger-than-life tale of identity, loss and dislocation spiralling into absurd and hairy extremes and is part stand-up, part storytelling, and part myth.
Leaving behind her edgy urban dwelling in Toronto, a vibrant theatre career, and elderly Jewish
parents, Edith found herself increasingly isolated, raising small children, surrounded by nothing but Romney Marsh sheep.
It was quite a journey, as Edith explains...
Was there one particular moment that inspired you to create Wild Country?
It wasn't necessarily one moment but rather a slow burn of many moments.  I moved from Toronto to a small village in Kent, newly married, eight months pregnant, no driver’s license, and terribly isolated. Â
Fast forward a few years later; I have two children, and I'm working on a show in
London...Then I get the news, my mother is diagnosed with Alzheimer's.Â
Shortly after this, my eldest child becomes ill and ends up wheelchair-bound for a year. I was tethered to home, caring for both children and flying out to Toronto to deal with my mum’s care.
After the dust settled, it was then I unravelled. I lost myself and was looking to find a
way back in. That's when I decided to write this show.
How did you manage to steer a path between the real story and the fictional?Â
I was kept on track by my co-writer and friend Annie Siddons. The play is grounded in some elements of truth, but it was more important to highlight the mythology inherent in the story rather than presenting 'an evening with...'Â
Essentially, it's a myth of transformation, swaddled in banal domesticity.   How do you find yourself after being lost in the wilderness for so long? The final result hopefully proves to be layered, surprising and funny.
Has the show affected your real life and is it likely to evolve further as your life develops?
Writing the show, working with a brilliant team and building it in front of an audience over time was a gift. The seeds of the show happened pre-Covid and it was ready to premiere just before we went into lockdown so there have been a lot of stops and starts. Now with the show up and touring, I want to hear other people's stories!
Along with the show we offer a workshop open to parents and carers to share their experiences through playful games and discussions, which will culminate in a podcast.
No subject is taboo!Â
What’s next for Wild Country?Â
We're planning to continue touring Wild Country into the Autumn and grow our podcast to reach more communities, including those with dementia and their carers.
WILD COUNTRY IS AT LIGHTHOUSE, POOLE ON SATURDAY 3RD JUNE 2023
For workshop and show tickets go to:
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT EDITH’S WORK GO TO