Last week we produced The Mossy Carpet at Torre Abbey, a beautiful, family-friendly show that celebrates nature, community and collaboration.
This performance was especially meaningful for us at Doorstep Arts, as it marks our final producing show for the time being.
The Mossy Carpet invited audiences of all ages to step into a playful, mossy world, rooted in a story of curiosity and care. It’s a wonderful example of what happens when artists come together with purpose and heart. We hope there will be more opportunities like this in the future.
Each of our brilliant collaborators – Art and Energy, Far Flung and Micha Colombo has shared their thoughts on the journey, you can read their reflections below, once you’ve looked at the beautiful pictures first!
Art and Energy – The Art and Energy Collective | Ignite Your Creativity
From Moss to Movement
How Art, Dance and Storytelling Are Growing Climate Hope
What if the smallest, quietest organisms held the biggest lessons for how we live together on this planet?
That’s the question at the heart of The Mossy Carpet—a joyful, evolving artwork that’s becoming a performance, a movement, and a moment of connection for communities across the South West and beyond.
This summer, we’re thrilled to bring The Mossy Carpet to life through a new collaboration between Far Flung Dance Theatre, Micha Colombo, and Art and Energy Collective, supported by Doorstep Arts. Blending spoken word, movement, and visual storytelling, the piece invites audiences of all ages to reflect on resilience, care, and the beauty of small climate actions.
Moss as Muse
Moss is ancient. It grows slowly, holds water, builds soil, and creates habitats. It thrives quietly, without drawing attention—but supports entire ecosystems. In a world that often feels loud, fast, and overwhelming, moss reminds us that gentleness and patience are powerful.
Inspired by this humble organism, (In particular those pompom sphagnum mosses that create peat), The Mossy Carpet project began with a simple invitation: to create a pompom patch in celebration of a small climate action. Since then, more than 72,000 people across five countries have added their stories, patterns, and hopes to this growing artwork—now almost 75 metres long.
Each patch is a tribute to care: cycling instead of driving, planting wildflowers, sharing food, writing letters, tending grief. Small things. Big meaning.
A Collaboration Rooted in Connection
This summer’s performance brings together the artistic talents of Micha Colombo, author of The Mossy Story (a poetic tale that emerged from a collaboration with The Art and Energy Collective and the wider project), and Far Flung Dance Theatre, known for their inclusive and dynamic physical storytelling.
The collaboration grew out of shared values—playfulness, accessibility, and the belief that art can open new ways of feeling and thinking. Together, the team has developed a performance that invites audiences to feel part of something bigger.
From Micha’s vivid, lyrical words to the joyful embodiment of moss and movement by Far Flung’s performers—including artists with learning disabilities and neurodivergent perspectives—this piece doesn’t just tell a story. It is community in motion.
Climate Action That Feels Good
So often, conversations about the climate crisis are full of fear and blame. The Mossy Carpet offers a different path: one rooted in imagination, joy, and care. It invites us to consider that changing the world might begin with something as small—and wondrous—as moss.
It doesn’t demand perfection. It celebrates participation. It doesn’t shout. It listens. This is climate action at a human pace.
From Page to Stage
What started as a textile-based artwork and a children’s book is now a playful, powerful performance. Alongside the dance and storytelling, audiences will experience the vast mossy tapestry itself, displayed as part of the set—a living archive of the thousands of people who have stitched their way into this shared act of hope.
Whether you’re five or eighty-five, The Mossy Carpet offers something for everyone: wonder, warmth, and maybe even a spark of inspiration to take your next small climate step.
Want to get involved?
Come and see The Mossy Carpet performance and explore the tapestry for yourself! Full listings of times and venues can be found here.
Micha Colombo – Poetry
“I was very excited to write the children’s book ‘The Mossy Story’ when the ART and ENERGY Collective approached me with the commission. They wanted to develop a story for children that conveyed some of the key messages around their fabulous Mossy Carpet project – how every small action counts, how carbon is like the fairytale giant of our times, how hope and imagination will lead the way into a brighter greener future for all. What a great brief! The ART and ENERGY team work in a wonderful, deeply collaborative way in all they do – they trusted me and my vision, and offered gentle, regular support to keep it all on track. The collaboration expanded via an illustration event with students from the University of Plymouth BA & MA Illustration courses. As a result, the story has stunning illustrations by Devon Tipping and Mikayla Shuker. The book is available to buy online and there is a free audiobook version available too.
The wider ‘Mossy Carpet’ project is all about mass participation, using art to engage people and inspire involvement and change in their own lives. It’s such a gorgeous representation of how small actions add up to something beautiful – if you haven’t seen it, check it out! I hope that ‘The Mossy Story’ can act in a similar way – inspiring action. Like the many beautiful pompoms and illustrations that have been created. Like my kids now shouting hello to tardigrades in the garden. And like FarFlung’s brilliant dance interpretation. The story takes on new life as it spreads. And in whatever form the story reaches them, I hope people enjoy entering the mossy world and perhaps come out a little bit changed on the other side.
Photo details:
1) ‘The Mossy Story’ book lying on The Mossy Carpet.
2) Illustration by Mikayla Shuker featured in ‘The Mossy Story’
3) Micha Colombo, writer of ‘The Mossy Story’.
Far Flung – Far Flung C.I.C
We’re really pleased to celebrate the brilliant work of Far Flung Dance Theatre C.I.C., a Plymouth-based inclusive organisation formed in 2015 to support Disabled people into the arts industry.
Far Flung is a collective of Disabled and non-disabled performing arts practitioners who believe that performance, access, and inclusion should be at the heart of every project. Their team includes artists, aerialists, movers, musicians, makers, voice practitioners, performers, and access workers – all working together to create accessible workshops and performances that are open to all.
As another vital piece of the jigsaw puzzle that has brought The Mossy Carpet to life, Far Flung has contributed energy, creativity, and care to the collaboration. Alongside Art and Energy’s inventive thinkers and The Sewical Guild’s thoughtful costume-making, Far Flung’s inclusive approach has helped shape the project into something truly welcoming and thought-provoking.
Their commitment to making performance more accessible – and to sharing it in public, non-traditional spaces – has added so much to this growing, living artwork.
We’re proud to be working alongside them.
Photography by Dom Moore