A Mingled Yarn

Book excerpt: Following the threads of Nick Hutchinson’s extraordinary life and adventures, A Mingled Yarn weaves together theatre, farming, family, horses, social unrest, Shakespeare, drugs, manic depression, love and more. ​ Son of renowned actress Dame Peggy Ashcroft and master advocate Lord Jeremy Hutchinson Q.C. Hutchinson grew up around the greats of British Theatre. ​As a young adult in the sixties, deeply uncomfortable with the class structure into which he was born, his idealism and passion involved him in direct action in Europe he encountered revolutionary theatre practices and in Paris the student protests. His move to Canada-first to Montreal, a city in the throes of its own revolution-brought him finally to the Wild West, where he began to live his childhood cowboy dream. As artistic director of the horse-drawn travelling show, The Caravan Stage Company he mounted thought- provoking, audience - immersive productions under the open skies, later founding the Caravan Farm Theatre for farm centred shows- from a masked Animal Farm among real pig pens to a winter production of the Snow Queen on horse drawn sleighs and the first Caravan Shakespeare productions. A Mingled Yarn is a journey through modern theatre history. It is a testament to the power of theatre and the creative process-even when it borders on mania. But it is also a celebration of community and a simpler life, lived on the land. Hutchinson’s sweeping autobiography has broad appeal, particularly for creative people and theatre lovers, as well as those who find their peace in wide open spaces on the back of a horse.