Hull UK City of Culture brings Flood: to the Sea to BBC Two

Rehearsals are underway in Hull for a ground-breaking theatre production that will be broadcast on BBC Two.

“We are very excited to be working with the brilliant Slung Low and the BBC on the latest instalment of Flood, which is one of the most ambitious commissions for Hull 2017. Slung Low have a reputation for asking searching questions about society and the state of the nation and having the BBC on board means many more people across the country will be able to experience it. There are no simple answers, but I hope that as well as an exhilarating theatrical event, it will get people watching it reflecting and debating.” – Martin Green, Director Hull 2017

Flood: To the Sea has been commissioned by Hull UK City of Culture 2017 and will be broadcast on BBC Two in August. It is the third instalment of Flood, created and produced by acclaimed theatre company Slung Low, which is being told across an entire year, online, live in Hull and on BBC TV.

Directed by Slung Low’s pioneering artistic director Alan Lane and written by award-winning playwright James Phillips, Flood is the Leeds-based company’s most ambitious and experimental project to date. This epic story, told in four compelling parts, began at the start of the year with a girl being raised from the depths of the sea, ahead of an approaching apocalyptic event that will see England engulfed by water.

Presented on a floating stage in Hull’s Victoria Dock, Flood mixes live performance, special effects, film and digital elements to tell a story across an entire year. Each part of this unprecedented piece of storytelling can be experienced as a stand-alone piece, whilst linking to the other parts.

Having begun as an online presentation in February, the first live performances of Flood took place in Hull’s Victoria Dock in in April. The TV production Flood, Part Three: To the Sea in August takes the action forward and asks a simple question: what if the fleeing masses from our TV screens and Twitter feeds, in their boats and their orange lifejackets, had English accents? Because displacement is like disease: deep down we think it only happens to other people.

Flood: To the Sea, is being shown as part of the BBC Arts strand, Performance Live. Following the broadcast, audiences will be able to see the next live instalment, when Flood returns to Victoria Dock in October.

 said: “It’s incredibly exciting to be working with Hull 2017 and Slung Low to bring Flood to network TV. This ambitious production challenges the audience and asks some important questions, and I’m proud that the BBC is enabling audiences around the UK to experience it.” – Emma Cahusac, BBC Executive Producer,

Flood, Part Three: To the Sea will broadcast on BBC Two in August.