The Wider Earth

A powerfully dramatic play about Charles Darwin's voyage on board HMS Beagle - an adventure that changed not only his own life, but also the history of the entire world.

In 1831, Charles Darwin, a twenty-two-year-old aspiring naturalist, stepped on board HMS Beagle. Little did he realise that the voyage would last five years, changing not only his own life – but also the history of the entire world. The Wider Earth brings this era-defining adventure to life, from traversing the dizzying heights of the Andes to diving into the depths of the Brazilian rainforest, through weathering the storms of Tierra del Fuego, to exploring the endless wonders of the Galápagos Islands. It's a coming-of-age story about science and faith – of how one inquisitive young man asked a question of Mother Nature, and was set on course to discover the answer to one of the greatest mysteries of life on Earth. David Morton's play received its widely acclaimed premiere at Queensland Theatre in Australia in 2016, before transferring to the Natural History Museum, London, in October 2018, presented by Trish Wadley Productions, Dead Puppet Society and Glass Half Full Productions, in a partnership project with the Natural History Museum. Originally performed in a dazzling state-of-the-art production with remarkable puppetry and cinematic animations, the powerful story at the heart of The Wider Earth will inspire schools, colleges and amateur theatre companies to create simpler – but no less spectacular – stagings of their own. This edition includes 4 pages of colour production photos from the 2018 Sydney Festival and Sydney Opera House production.