The Keepers is an eye-catching lighthouse installation and improvised storytelling show. Bea and Bill, two lighthouse keepers, have heard each others stories already, and are looking for new stories to keep them entertained as they stay awake all night keeping the lighthouse beams shining.

They invite visitors to write them a postcard with ideas for new seaside-themed stories, and to post these cards in their lobster pots. 

The lighthouse keepers create brand new seaside stories for everyone's delight by selecting postcards at random from the lobster pots.

The Keepers received support from the Dorset Performing Arts fund to develop The Keepers to this stage. We took pilot performances to a care home in Weymouth, to a community event in south Bristol, and to Bristol's Harbour Festival in July 2024.

The Keepers is suitable for either indoor/outdoor use and works well in both festival and care home settings.

Images by Jayne Jackson Photography of a care home performance in Weymouth, July 2024.

Future Plans

A window into the world of British lighthouse keeping in 1969, The Keepers as a theatre show is currently in development.

Is it about how people weather storms. How humans form teams, how we re-group when faced with adversity. There will be two versions, a family theatre show and a non-verbal multi-sensory version for people living with advanced dementia.

The initial research and development week back in 2021 was supported with in-kind rehearsal space from the Loko Klub and Invisible Circus. We received another week's R&D support to further develop The Keepers as a theatre show from Poole Lighthouse's Sanctuary residency scheme in August 2024.

Images from the initial 2021 R&D week by Made for Impact photography.