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Unusual story which we've been involved in promoting this week.. enjoy!
A herd of Kent dairy cows must be World’s most cultured animals after being treated to their own private performances of Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor.
The herd of 170 Holsteins, at Chart Sutton near Maidstone, have been listening to selected scenes for the last few months.
Research carried out by psychologists at the University of Leicester has previously established that calming music can improve milk yield, probably because it reduces stress. Other farmers have tried playing classical music to chickens to boost egg laying.
But this is thought to be the first time that Shakespearian acting has been tried out and found to have similar beneficial effects.
“We selected scenes from the play that we felt to be the most lyrical and relaxing” said Changeling Theatre Company’s Artistic Director Rob Forknall. “We also included a few musical numbers”.
“It started off an experiment after I was talking to a farmer about whether Shakespeare would have the same effect on cows as music” says Rob, “we were all slightly surprised to discover it did!
“Since then we’ve done six rehearsals with the cows. Rehearsing outdoors helps us prepare for our summer open air Shakespeare tour. It’s better than having to book indoor rehearsal space and the farmer’s obviously very pleased to get more milk”!
“We’re getting approximately an extra 4 percent milk yield from the cows after they’ve listened to Shakespeare” said Pleasant Farm’s Dairy Farm Manager Martin Wellsted.
“Anything that calms the animals and reduces their stress is good” he added “Milk let down is governed by a hormone called oxytocin. If a cow is not relaxed it produces adrenaline which stops the release of oxytocin. In other words; a happy cow is a milky cow”!
“They really seem to enjoy Shakespeare” says Martin. “Perhaps there’s something about the language of Shakespeare. It’s hard to say, but it definitely works” he added.
“I think the actors liven up their day and prevent boredom. Otherwise they’re just looking at grass and my face all day long”! said Martin.
So how do the cows react to the Changeling’s version of the Merry Wives of Windsor?
“The cows are a very critical audience” says Rob. “We find they respond to good acting and good delivery. If they like something, they’ll come closer and watch intently. If they don’t like it, they get bored and wander off.
“We’ve actually changed how we perform one of two scenes because of the feedback from the cows” Rob added.
Graham Majin is Head of Video Marketing at Kent Video Production and Video Marketing Agency http://kershmedia.co.uk and http://www.kwikvid.com
