Discover Threshold, Tom Bailey’s 600km ‘Ultra-Slow’ Artistic Trek Through The Changing Arctic

On The Table Read Magazine, “the best arts and entertainment magazine UK“, Bristol theatremaker Tom Bailey has embarked on an extraordinary 600km ultra-slow journey by ski, sled, foot and boat across the Arctic borderlands of Norway, Finland and Sweden, transforming a climate-conscious expedition into a powerful living artwork.

Bristol-based theatremaker Tom Bailey is set to embark on an ambitious 600-kilometre ultra-slow expedition across the Arctic borderlands of Norway, Finland, and Sweden. Titled Threshold – A Wild New Border Journey, the two-month project blends performance art with environmental research, challenging conventional approaches to international cultural touring in an era of rapid climate change.

An Ultra-Low-Carbon Artistic Expedition

The journey begans on 10 March 2026, following preparatory workshops at the Barents Spektakel festival in Kirkenes, northern Norway, from 19 to 22 February. Travelling exclusively by ski, sled, foot, and boat, Bailey will move at a deliberate pace through remote forests, frozen lakes, and coastal mountains. The expedition concludes in late May at the Stamsund International Theatre Festival in Norway’s Lofoten Islands.

This is far more than a physical trek. By progressing slowly through regions where national borders, indigenous territories, animal migration routes, and geological features intersect, the project treats the journey itself as a living artwork. Bailey will document first-hand observations of a landscape undergoing profound transformation.

Climate Change and Geopolitical Shifts in the Arctic

The Arctic is warming faster than any other region on Earth, with significant consequences for local ecosystems, wildlife, and communities. As sea ice melts, new shipping routes are opening, intensifying competition over resources and territory. The project highlights these pressures, including debates around resource ownership and strategic interests in areas such as Greenland.

Through encounters with residents, artists, and researchers along the route, Bailey aims to capture lived experiences of environmental change in these borderlands. The gradual movement allows for deep engagement with the sensory and physical realities of the terrain, gathering material that reflects both ecological shifts and cultural resilience.

Redefining Sustainable Cultural Touring

Threshold reimagines how international performance work can be created and shared in a warming world. Rather than relying on high-carbon air travel, the project proposes a landscape-based, low-impact mode of touring that integrates environmental responsibility into the creative process. Bailey’s approach explores what performance-making becomes when time, geography, and climate constraints are embraced as creative forces.

The expedition is structured around four distinct landscape and thematic phases. Along the way, Bailey will lead workshops, conversations, and community engagements. These interactions, combined with on-site research, will inform a new performance piece scheduled to premiere in 2027. Meanwhile, company designer Natasha Soonchild will work as artist-in-residence in Kirkenes, developing the physical design for the production in parallel with the journey.

Public Sharings and Festival Connections

The journey includes opportunities for public sharing. It begins with workshops at Barents Spektakel and ends with an initial presentation of gathered material at Stamsund in late May 2026. Additional talks and performances are planned at festivals in Norway and Denmark, including connections with the ILT Festival in Aarhus.

This project builds on Bailey’s previous low-carbon journeys, including a 2024 trek across Scotland, Denmark, and Norway that informed his 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe production Wild Thing!.

Collaborative Team and Support

Threshold – A Wild New Border Journey is produced by UK-based theatre company MECHANIMAL, co-led by Tom Bailey and designer Natasha Soonchild. The company is known for its award-winning immersive work, international touring to over 15 countries, and pioneering green touring practices.

Key partners include Norwegian dramaturg and producer Gulli Sekse, whose expertise in landscape dramaturgy brings valuable insight, and the ILT Festival in Denmark. The project also collaborates with Barents Spektakel and Stamsund International Theatre Festival. It receives support from Julie’s Bicycle, a leading international organisation driving climate action in the cultural sector, and is funded by a joint initiative from Arts Council England, Arts Council Norway, and the Danish Arts Foundation.

A New Chapter in Climate-Conscious Art

By slowing down and listening closely to both landscapes and communities, Threshold offers a model for how artists can respond creatively to environmental and geopolitical realities. In an Arctic region facing accelerated change, the project asks fundamental questions about the future of cultural exchange and the role of art in documenting a transforming world. The resulting performance, shaped directly by the journey, promises to bring these remote borderland experiences to wider audiences in 2027.

Find more now:

Home – Mechanimal

ILT Festival

 Barents Spektakel

Stamsund Festival