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Taylor Mac — A 24-Decade History of Popular Music: The First Act

LIFT 2018

— ,Barbican Theatre

Fabulous and fearless, Taylor Mac reframes the social history of America through three decades of song in this no-holds-barred extravaganza of music, art, activism and hugely entertaining mass ritual.

Joined onstage by a 22-piece orchestra and host of local special guests, New York’s Mac has created a Pulitzer Prize-nominated, once-in-a-lifetime, immersive performance in a quest to chronicle how communities grow stronger as they are being torn apart.

Charting the years 1776–1806, he asks the audience to conspire with him to reimagine rebellions, revolutions, triumphs and tragedies. Bawdy pub songs, sea shanties and subversive anthems are rearranged as musical mash-ups to take on a chapter of the defining early years of America’s history. The New York Times critic has described it as 'one of the greatest experiences of my life'.

Tagged with: Theatre & dance The Art Of Change Contemporary music

Duration: Approximately 3 hours, no interval. The audience is invited to enter and exit at liberty during the performance
Age guidance: 16+. Contains nudity.

30 Jun 2018
BSL-interpreted performance

Part of our 2018 Season, The Art of Change, which explores how artists respond to, reflect and can potentially effect change in the social and political landscape. 

Part of LIFT 2018, a London-wide festival of international performance taking place throughout June 2018.

Presented by the Barbican and LIFT 2018. Produced by Pomegranate Arts and Nature’s Darlings

This engagement is supported by Mid Atlantic Art Foundation through USArtists International in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Howard Gilman Foundation. 

Creative Team

Taylor Mac Conception and Co-Direction
Matt Ray Musical Direction and Arranger
Niegel Smith Co-Direction
Machine Dazzle Costumes
John Torres Lighting
Jocelyn Clarke Dramaturgy

Reviews

‘Explosive, spectacular, heartbreaking‘
Guardian
‘We were delirious and smitten, sundered and remade ... An unutterably brilliant masterwork‘
Sydney Morning Herald
‘Get your head spun, your politics woke and your theatrical aesthetic cracked wide open‘
Mercury News (San Francisco)
‘The show tells an alternative, underdog’s history of America via an extravaganza of costumes‘
Guardian

Part of The Art of Change

Our 2018 season explores how the arts respond to, reflect and potentially effect change in the social and political landscape.
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