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Memorial

Brink Productions

— ,Barbican Theatre

In this richly layered theatrical experience, Alice Oswald’s extraordinary poem is performed on a grand scale, brought to impassioned life inside Jocelyn Pook’s transporting, otherworldly score.

Out of the darkness, a vast field of bodies emerges. At the centre of this universe, a woman stands as storyteller, her voice conveying the voice of a god, of the elements, of time itself, and of a thousand lives caught in visceral moments of war. All the while, a 215-strong community chorus moves as a haunting and uplifting presence across the stage, which evolves from battlefield to meadow to starlit sky. 

Stripping much of the narrative from the Iliad, Oswald’s Memorial is an intense elegy for each of the 215 dead soldiers named in Homer’s epic. Her transformative text is embodied by one of Australia’s most celebrated actors, Helen Morse. Directed by Brink Productions’s Chris Drummond, with choreography by Circa’s Yaron Lifschitz, this reflective and dynamic show stands as a requiem to all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
 

Tagged with: Theatre & dance

Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes/no interval
Age guidance: 12+

Fri 28 Sep
Post-show talk (Free to same-day ticket holders)

Part of 14-18 NOW, the UK’s arts programme for the First World War centenary. Co-commissioned by the Barbican and 14-18 NOW: WW1 Centenary Art Commissions. With assistance from the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australian Government’s Major Festivals Initiative, in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals, Adelaide Festival, Brisbane Festival and Melbourne Festival, and with support from the Australian Government’s Anzac Centenary Arts, Culture Fund and the Harold Mitchell Foundation. This project is assisted by Arts SA - Independent Makers and Presenters - Major Commissions Fund and the Government of South Australia. 

Creative Team

  • Alice Oswald   Poet
  • Chris Drummond, Yaron Lifschitz   Concept
  • Jocelyn Pook   Composer
  • Chris Drummond   Director
  • Yaron Lifschitz   Movement
  • Michael Hankin   Set Design
  • Renate Henschke   Costumes
  • Nigel Levings   Lighting
  • Jane Rossetto   Sound
  • Benjamin Knapton   Associate Director/Associate Movement Director
  • Jonathan Peter Kenny   Music Director
  • Helen Morse   Actor

Musicians

  • Jonathan Peter Kenny   Counter tenor
  • Melanie Pappenheim   Mezzo soprano
  • Tanja Tzarovska   Macedonian singer
  • Belinda Sykes   Oboe, shawm, recorders, gralla, Bulgarian singer
  • Susi Evans   Clarinet, bass clarinet, accordion
  • Kelly McCusker   Violin, voice
  • Jocelyn Pook   Viola
  • Laura Moody   Cello, voice
  • Tom Morgan   Double bass
  • Jean Kelly   Celtic harp
  • Angela Hicks   Voice

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Barbican Theatre

Location
The Barbican Theatre is located within the main Barbican building. Head to Level G and follow the signs to find your seating level. 

Address
Barbican Centre
Silk Street, London
EC2Y 8DS

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