Matter of Britain was a community performance that took place from 2023 to 2024 in multiple locations across the parish of Mayfield, East Sussex. The performance foregrounded the myth of the Wasteland, in which King Arthur’s knights quest for the Holy Grail in order to heal their devastated land. Over 300 members of the community took part as questing knights, angelic choirs, guiding anchorites and tempting devils.
The performance was recorded and made into a feature documentary, which has since screened at galleries and festival around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art (New York), CPH:DOX (Copenhagen), Cinéma du Réel (Paris) and Open City Documentary Film Festival (London).
The work was supported by an Arts Council England Project Grant, the Lund Trust, High Weald AONB, East Sussex Arts Partnership, the University of Reading and the Museum of English Rural Life.
