New podcast series One Foot In Front of the Other explores health and wellbeing through the lens of walking.
Walking has been a coping strategy utilized by many during the pandemic, with proven benefits to both mental and physical health. Theatre maker Caitlin Gleeson created this series from her experience of walking during recovery from long covid, made up of creative non-fiction blended with invitations to participate in mindful observation.
What do you think of when you think of walking? Hiking through a forest? Ambling around your local park with a friend? Popping to the shops in the rain? Marching through the streets with a placard, shouting?
In March 2020, like many people, Caitlin was really poorly with covid. She’s still not back to normal but one of the things that’s kept her going ever since has been walking.
One Foot In Front Of The Other is a series of four short audio pieces about walking. Join Caitlin to reflect on what walking has been like over the last year or so – how it’s changed, how it’s been painfully unchanging, and some of the things she’s seen, heard and found out along the way. As you listen, go out for a walk or a roll or a sit, or stay where you are and come on a walk with her instead.
Each episode has a different theme – walking for wellbeing, walking in nature, walking in the city and walking with others – and together the pieces form a narrative that is gently hopeful – the only way forward is to put one foot in front of the other, in walking and in life.
Caitlin said: “I’ve loved making these audio pieces. Oldham Coliseum have been so supportive and it’s been amazing being able to work with SHAR, who’s an incredible musician and sound designer.
“I’ve really enjoyed delving deeper into why walking is such a key part of our culture and how it influences different aspects of our lives. Walking has pretty much saved me over the last year as I’ve been recovering from long covid, and I wanted to reflect on this journey while inviting an audience to come along with me.”
One Foot In Front Of The Other is written and performed by Caitlin Gleeson with original music and sound design by SHAR. The series is available on podcasting platforms by searching for Oldham Coliseum, on the Oldham Coliseum website and subtitled on the Coliseum’s YouTube channel.
One Foot In Front Of The Other is supported by Oldham Coliseum Theatre’s Micro Commissions 2021.
Exploring themes of health and wellbeing, local stories or work for and with young people from Oldham, the Coliseum’s Micro Commissions 2021 respond to the world as we live in it today, over a year on from the beginning of the pandemic.
Previously released: Angel of History from Digital Artist Grant Archer in collaboration with ballerina Nicky Hensall, actor Shobna Gulati and composer Akshay Gulati is a moving short film exploring what it has meant to be a performer during the pandemic; A Brew, A Terrace and the 184 from Bog Standard Creatives is a tale of growing up in a poverty loop in Oldham; Joyce Branagh’s audio play The Newcomer is the joyful true story of Sophie Wild, a WWII survivor who came to Oldham aged 12 and found acceptance, a calling, and love; Dare to Know Theatre’s verbatim piece telling the stories of health workers at The Royal Oldham Hospital, A Broken Family, Together, Tori Burgess’s audio drama A Tale of Two Giants is based on the Saddleworth folk tale of Alphin and Alderman and Jade Williams’s workshops for young people exploring Black British History Pablo Fanque’s Fantastic Fair: For The Benefit of Pablo.
All Oldham Coliseum Micro Commissions 2021 are free to access, however the theatre asks that audiences consider making a donation to help them support more great artists to create new work.
