The Happenings artist development commission
Grit is a site-specific performance created by theatre-maker Sophia Hatfield for The Happenings – Festival of Public Art in Stoke-on-Trent, produced by Urban Wilderness CIC. Performed along the towpaths of the Etruria Canals on 26 September 2021, the work explored endurance, care, belonging and the relationships women form with public space through movement.
Developed in collaboration with local women’s running groups and the Canal & River Trust, Grit emerged from conversations about safety, confidence and the emotional complexities of exercising in semi-isolated urban spaces. Sophia worked closely with participants to gather stories, rhythms and embodied experiences of running — from breath patterns and footfall to personal reflections on motivation, resilience and fear.
These shared insights shaped a bespoke promenade performance, in which Sophia led audiences along the canal route while weaving together physicality, spoken word and sound. The piece invited listeners to tune into the textures of the environment — water, wind, bridges, gravel, gradient — and to consider how women navigate these landscapes both individually and collectively.
Layering movement with live and recorded voices, Grit highlighted how public spaces can be both empowering and challenging, and how running becomes a tool for grounding, release and community. Audiences experienced the canal not just as a backdrop but as an active collaborator in the work, shaping tempo, atmosphere and meaning.
Commissioned as part of The Happenings’ commitment to hyper-local, intimate public artworks, Grit offered a powerful and personal reflection on strength, vulnerability and the determination required to keep moving through shifting landscapes — physical, emotional and social.