Sparks flew again at an historic ironworks when hundreds took part in a ‘multi-platform theatrical’ space mission.

It was lift off for Tin Shed Theatre Co’s Rocket Launch Blaenavon on Saturday, September 25, at the town’s World Heritage ironworks site, which people can now watch online.

The community outreach production reached for the stars by following the launch of town space cadet Elin into outer space in search of the source of a strange message beamed to Earth labelled ‘The Blip’.

It started with a procession of hundreds of townspeople to the ironworks and used digital, site specific, documentary/mockumentary film and immersive storytelling to tell the tale.

The show was live-streamed on the Infinity Space Wales website and at the Riverfront in Newport, Cellb in Blaenau Ffestiniog and the CULTVR LAB in Cardiff.

Rocket Launch had to be postponed from last year owing to the pandemic, but Tin Shed finally managed to light the candle last week.

Director George Harris described the evening as an “incredible experience”, while the procession from the town centre was a “special moment”.

“It felt really emotional,” she admitted.

George said that having a female astronaut was an important aspect of the show, while the blue lights shining in the darkness on all the Bluetooth headsets created a stunning impression of how many people were there.

She said it was fantastic to involve so many people following the worst of the pandemic, which had influnced some parts of the show such as volunteers working at foodbanks and helping neighbours they had never met before.

The show encapsulated that however bad things get, there is always a glimmer of starlight indicating “hope”, she added.

Ms Harris paid tribute to the creative team who helped put the show together.

“We couldn’t have done this without a monumental group of creatives and production, freelancers, supportive organisations and local community to help us realise this hugely ambitious project.

“And we’d like to thank all the different venues, organisations, people and community groups who have helped us along the way.”

Tin Shed is a theatrical organisation that specialises in arts activity and creative outreach in Wales, and seeks to connect communities through arts-based activities with a focus on outdoor locations, publicly-populated space, heritage sites and structures.

A video of the production has been posted on the Infinity Space Wales website www.iswales.com and Tin Shed’s Facebook page.