What do you see when you look at a tree?
Leaves and twigs and branches?
Or do you see a living thing
That moves and sings and dances…?
– Emma Carlisle, author, What do you see when you look at a tree?
Aranyani, Goddess of forests and the wild, is dying. To recover – and for the plants and animals that she supports to thrive – she needs nourishment and balance in the world. It is down to a spiritual Sage and a Scientist – and you, the audience – to discover how to save her.
The show explores the connection between science and spirituality through the medium of trees and dance. It includes South Asian Bharatanatyam and contemporary Western dance, as well as an ethereal, original music score and spoken word. An after-show workshop also includes some ingenious audience participation using the latest in Micro:bit technology.
Drawing inspiration from Buddha attaining enlightenment under a Bodhi (fig) tree in India and Newton discovering gravity from an apple tree in the UK, Tree of Life weaves a tale of how these two events lead to a deepening of human understanding of our natural world, spiritually and scientifically.
Tree of Life is funded by Arts Council England and DanceEast. Supported by Cambridge Junction, CUH-Arts, Akademi, Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination, Mercury Theatre and Hertfordshire Libraries.
Book your tickets for the premiere on Cambridge Junction’s webpage
Further touring dates for 2026 to be released soon.
Beautiful and evocative storytelling– Audience feedback
