You’re Safe Til 2024: Deep History
Tickets go on sale to Barbican Patrons today, Barbican Members Plus on Thursday 16 June, Barbican Members on Friday 17 June and on general sale on Saturday 18 June 2022.
Toni Racklin, Head of Theatre and Dance at the Barbican, said “Today we launch our new autumn season in The Pit, which offers unique perspectives on some of today’s pressing societal issues – including the climate crisis, accessibility, and the demonisation of a subgenre of music. With the previously announced production of My Neighbour Totoro in the main house, our autumn programme features artists from Japan, the USA, South Africa, Australia, and the United Kingdom, and includes four world premieres and one European premiere. There are innovative multidisciplinary performances that blend theatre, movement and striking visuals, collaborations with world class musicians and a magical stage adaptation of a firm family favourite. With six shows presented across The Pit and the Barbican Theatre, it’s a truly cross-arts season with something for everyone.”
In the Theatre, Joe Hisaishi and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) present the global premiere of My Neighbour Totoro, a landmark adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s enchanting classic coming-of-age film in collaboration with Improbable and Nippon TV. Last month the much-anticipated production broke Barbican box office records for ticket sales in a single day. The RSC are partnering with Barbican Creative Learning on an events programme for schools, including a day-long session for teachers, and a series of RSC Insight sessions for students, in response to My Neighbour Totoro. In the lead up to My Neighbour Totoro in the Theatre, we screen Studio Ghibli film Princess Mononoke on the Sculpture Court as part of our Outdoor Cinema screenings this summer.
Based in Maboneng, Johannesburg and founded by multidisciplinary artist William Kentridge, The Centre for the Less Good Ideais an incubator that supports experimental, collaborative, and cross-disciplinary arts projects. In October, we present an intimate evening in The Pit of six short performances that blend dance and live music and have been developed through the trailblazing Centre. This is the first time this programme of work has been seen outside South Africa.
Playwright, theatre maker and son of a climate scientist, David Finnigan relates how 75 hours in modern Australia came to collide with an epic sweep of history in You’re Safe Til 2024: Deep History, a performance providing a snapshot of what our future might look like, and detailing how we arrived at this critical historical moment.
We present two winners of the Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award this year. HighRise Entertainment challenge myths about UK Drill and its links to violence in the world premiere of The UK Drill Project; which is developed through conversations with artists on the scene. Perfect Show for Rachel from Zoo Co gives Rachel, a theatre-loving 31-year-old learning disabled artist, the power to lead the creation of her own perfect show. The new, experimental production asks who defines artistic taste, and who is currently excluded. This is an exciting opportunity for the Barbican to collaborate with, and learn from companies, who have inclusivity and accessibility at the heart of their work. With the full and generous support of the Trust, each company will be awarded the full prize money to realise their proposal, which they’ve been developing over the past couple of years. The Barbican will work with the companies on a series of workshops exploring the themes of both shows.
We also present the world premiere of An Anatomy of Melancholy, a collaboration between director Netia Jones, countertenor Iestyn Davies, and lutenist Thomas Dunford which draws on the work of Robert Burton, Sigmund Freud, Darian Leader and other contemporary psychoanalysts, and features the heart-rending music of Renaissance composer John Dowland.
David Finnigan – You’re Safe Til 2024: Deep History
Tuesday 27 September–Saturday 1 October 2022, The Pit
Press performance: Tuesday 27 September 2022, 7.45pmArmed with a projector, family photos and a pile of sand, playwright David Finnigan relates how 75 hours in modern Australia came to collide with an epic sweep of history during this compelling show.
At the end of 2019, in the English countryside, Finnigan began writing a play about the seven turning points that have brought us to this moment in time – our ecosystems transformed, our planet on the brink of unthinkable climate disaster. But then his hometown of Canberra was hit by bushfires. As an area the size of England burned and one billion animals perished, he started to receive texts from loved ones racing to evacuate amid the devastation.
In a performance that interweaves 75,000 years of humanity with the incredibly personal account of his best friend’s escape, Finnigan calls on scientific research, phone footage and storytelling to illuminate unprecedented global change and how we’ve arrived here. Shot through with humour, pop culture and a rich electronic soundtrack, You’re Safe Til 2024: Deep History speaks of resilience and hope.
Journalists please note: there is an opportunity to see You’re Safe Til 2024 in Edinburgh in August before its run in The Pit. Please contact the Barbican Communications team for more information.
You’re Safe Til 2024: Deep History is presented as part of the UK/Australia Season 2021-22, a major programme of cultural exchange taking place across the two nations.
The Centre for the Less Good Idea – To What End
Thursday 6–Sunday 9 October 2022, The Pit
Press performance: Thursday 6 October 2022, 7.45pm
Six inspiring short performances blend dance and live music, developed by South African artists at William Kentridge’sleading centre for experimental, collaborative and cross-disciplinary arts.
This curated programme features diverse performances from a range of artists including a captivating all-female chorus, rhythmic dance and physical theatre solos. These innovative performances all use text, sound, music, movement and visuals in experimental ways to explore themes of social and political change in South Africa.
In Footnotes, a team of dancers and musicians equipped with typewriters and percussive instruments question the nature of their being and their labour. Caught between modes of survival and instruction, this is a rampantly physical dance and sound piece. The Weep of the Whips is a physical two-hander seeking to find power in brokenness in which the sjambok (whip) is used as a tool for instruction and musicality. Commission Continua is a personal and heartfelt one-hander, in which paper becomes a shrewd and incisive metaphor. A musical performance sees the use of instruments and bodies to both replicate and pay tribute to the myriad sounds and narratives of South Africa’s northernmost province in Sounds of Limpopo.The largest ensemble work of the programme, Pitsana is a performance that grapples with the conventions of responsibility, duty, and labour. It is a story that posits the consequences of a physical and psychological repression of energy. An ensemble female chorus come together in the performance of Umthandazo, taking its lead from the oft-overlooked victims of the 2012 Marikana Massacre.
Founded by the visionary artist William Kentridge, The Centre for the Less Good Idea is an artistic incubator in Johannesburg, supporting artists to follow their impulses, connections and revelations to create groundbreaking new work. This is the first time that this new programme been seen outside of their country.
To What End is performed in English, Zulu, Xhosa, Sesotho and Setswana.
Royal Shakespeare Company / Joe Hisaishi – My Neighbour Totoro
Saturday 8 October 2022–Saturday 21 January 2023, Barbican Theatre
Press performance: Tuesday 18 October 2022, 7pm
Joe Hisaishi and the Royal Shakespeare Company bring Studio Ghibli’s enchanting classic coming-of-age film My Neighbour Totoro to the stage for this global premiere, a collaboration with Improbable and Nippon TV.
Exploring the magical fantasy world of childhood and the transformative power of imagination, My Neighbour Totoro follows one extraordinary summer in the lives of sisters Satsuki and Mei as they are swept up in exciting adventures with their new neighbours – transported to a long-forgotten realm of spirits, sprites, and natural wonder.
The celebrated 1988 animated feature film by Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away) will be brought to the stage by its original composer Joe Hisaishi in this landmark new adaptation written by playwright Tom Morton-Smith (Oppenheimer).
Directed by Phelim McDermott with production design by Tom Pye, costume design by Kimie Nakano, and lighting design by Jessica Hung Han Yun, this ground-breaking production will feature puppetry created by Basil Twist and music from Joe Hisaishi’s iconic score performed live.
My Neighbour Totoro is already on sale.
On Thursday 13 October, Barbican Creative Learning and the RSC host a one-day course for teachers exploring cross-artform approaches based around the RSC’s new production. With practitioners from both the RSC and Improbable Theatre, the course, which is suitable for English, Drama, Art, Media, IT and Music teachers at either primary or secondary level, explores how a cross-artform approach can unlock the themes, characters, and key scenes from My Neighbour Totoro.
Two Student Insight Sessions on Thursday 17 and Thursday 24 November co-facilitated by both RSC and Improbable Theatre practitioners will explore Improbable Theatre’s unique approach to creating My Neighbour Totoro. Students are invited to join members of the company to delve into the world of puppetry and look at the process of bringing an animation to life on stage.
An Anatomy of Melancholy
Thursday 27–Sunday 30 October 2022, The Pit
Press performance: Thursday 27 October 2022, 9pm
An Anatomy of Melancholy – a new theatrical creation, which will be performed in the round in the intimate setting of The Pit – is a portrait of a man engaged in a forensic examination of his own sadness.
Drawing on the work of Robert Burton (The Anatomy of Melancholy), Sigmund Freud (Mourning and Melancholia), as well as Darian Leader (The New Black) and other contemporary psychoanalysts, it takes inspiration from the notion of art as a consolation. Countertenor Iestyn Davies, lutenist Thomas Dunford and director Netia Jones present this staged performance with live and immersive video projection, featuring some of the most exquisite and heart-rending music ever composed: the songs of melancholy by English Renaissance composer John Dowland.
This world premiere production examines humanity’s relationship with melancholy – both the emotional and the scientific. Performed on stage as protagonist and commentator, the evening will reflect on ideas about mourning and melancholia, scientific and analytic responses to loss and melancholy, its botanical and pharmaceutical remedies, the emotional meeting point between intense beauty and overwhelming sadness, and the recurring idea of the powerful consolation that art can provide.
An Anatomy of Melancholy is already on sale.
The Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award 2022
HighRise Entertainment – The UK Drill Project
Thursday 3–Saturday 12 November 2022, The Pit
Press performance: Friday 4 November 2022, 7.45pm
Challenging myths about UK Drill music and its links to youth violence, this radically honest and direct show takes real-life experiences to explore the truths behind the headlines.
Drill originated from Chicago’s Southside rap scene that gained popularity in the early 2010’s. With its melodic and dark undertones, its coded lyrics often explore the aspirations and struggles of young people.
Developed through conversation with artists on the scene, this new show explores the perceived relationship between musicality and criminality. With the criminal justice system putting this music on trial and the ensuing moral panic in the media, can we as a society really blame an art form for a spike in violence?
As part of the show, the company have curated a short interactive exhibition on UK Drill culture and the history of oppressed musical subcultures in the UK.
HighRise Entertainment are an acclaimed theatre collective whose work uses original music, video projection and first-hand testimony to represent unheard voices and forgotten communities. Led by Artistic Director Dominic Garfield, they are winners of the Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award in 2022.
The Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award 2022
Zoo Co – Perfect Show for Rachel
Friday 18–Saturday 26 November 2022, The Pit
Press performance: Saturday 19 November 2022, 7pm
Step into Rachel’s world in this experimental show as a learning disabled artist has the power to lead the creation of her ‘Perfect Show’.
Rachel is a theatre-loving, enigmatic 31 year-old who loves Kylie Minogue, heckling from the front row and seeingpeople falling over. She is a learning disabled care-home resident, and sister to Flo, Zoo Co’s Artistic Director.
Sitting on-stage on a throne with her custom-built tech desk, she takes charge as the director of every unique performance in real-time. A touch of a button can trigger music, lighting, theatrical scenes or choreography, brought to life instantly by a company of performers.
Zoo Co are a multi award-winning company creating theatre that loudly champions access. Perfect Show for Rachelwas developed with Rachel, to create a show on her own terms. It explores who defines artistic taste, and questions who that currently excludes. Zoo Co are winners of the Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award in 2022.
https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/theatre-dance
8.30pm
2 hours 13 minutes
Sculpture Court
£18 plus booking fee
Presented by the Barbican
You’re Safe Til 2024: Deep History
David Finnigan
Australia
Created and performed by David Finnigan
Music by Reuben Ingall
Tue 27 Sep–Sat 1 Oct 2022 (5 performances)
The Pit
7.45pm
1 hour/no interval
14+
£18 plus booking fee; £5 Young Barbican tickets available
Press performance: Tue 27 Sep 2022, 7.45pm
Audio-described performance: Fri 30 Sep 2022, 7.45pm
Presented by the Barbican
You’re Safe Til 2024: Deep History is presented as part of the UK/Australia Season 2021-22, a major programme of cultural exchange taking place across the two nations
To What End
The Centre for the Less Good Idea
South Africa
Founder of The Centre for the Less Good Idea, William Kentridge
Co-founder & Director of The Centre for the Less Good Idea, Bronwyn Lace
Animateur & Programmes Curator for The Centre for the Less Good Idea, Phala Ookeditse Phala
Footnotes
Concept and Direction by Vusi Mdoyi
Performed by Vusi Mdoyi, Volley Nchabeleng, Micca Manganye, Thabo Rapoo & Muzi Shili
Choreographed by Vusi Mdoyi & Thabo Rapoo
Music by Volley Nchabeleng & Micca Manganye
Costume Design by Greta Goiris, Emmanuelle Erhart & SO Academy Costume Mentees
The Weep of the Whips
Concept and Choreography by Thulisile Binda
Performed by Thulisile Binda & Micca Manganye
Music by Micca Manganye
Costume Design by Nthabiseng Malaka & Natalie Paneng
Commission Continua
Concept by Tony Bonani Miyambo & Phala Ookeditse Phala
Directed by Phala Ookeditse Phala
Performed by Tony Bonani Miyambo
Sounds of Limpopo
Concept and Performed by Micca Manganye & Volley Nchabeleng
Pitsana
Concept and Choreography by Thulisile Binda
Direction by Phala Ookeditse Phala
Music by Thembinkosi Mavimbela, Micca Manganye & Muzi Shili.
Performed by Thabo Rapoo, Thulisile Binda, Sibahle Mangena & Muzi Shili
Costume Design by Nthabiseng Malaka & Natalie Paneng
Umthandazo
Directed by Faniswa Yisa
Performed by Asanda Hanabe, Buhle Mazibuko, Molebogeng Phiri, Sibahle Mangena, Zandi Hlatshwayo & Elma Motloenya
Costume Design by Greta Goiris, Emmanuelle Erhart & SO Academy Costume Mentees
Thu 6–Sun 9 Oct 2022 (4 performances)
The Pit
7.45pm; 3pm on Sun 9 Oct 2022
1 hour 30 mins/no interval
Age guidance: 14+ (contains some upsetting scenes referencing both recent and historical tragedies and injustices)
£20 plus booking fee; £10 Young Barbican tickets available
Press performance: Thu 6 Oct 2022, 7.45pm
Post-show talk: Fri 7 Oct 2022, 7.45pm
Audio-described performance: Sun 9 Oct 2022, 3pm
Presented by the Barbican
Produced by The Centre for the Less Good Idea in partnership with The Office Performing Arts + Film
Made possible with the generous support of Wendy Fischer
My Neighbour Totoro
The Royal Shakespeare Company / Joe Hisaishi
UK / Japan
Adapted by Tom Morton-Smith from the feature animation by Hayao Miyazaki with music by Joe Hisaishi
Directed by Phelim McDermott
Production Design by Tom Pye
Puppetry by Basil Twist
Costume Design by Kimie Nakano
Lighting Design by Jessica Hung Han Yun
Orchestration and Arrangement by Will Stuart
Sound Design by Tony Gayle
Movement by You-Ri Yamanaka
Sat 8 Oct 2022–Sat 21 Jan 2023 (118 performances)
Barbican Theatre
7pm; also 2pm on Thursdays and Saturdays; no performances on Sundays
No performances on Sat 24, Sun 25, and Mon 26 Dec 2022
Running time TBC
£10–95 plus booking fee
Press performance: Tue 18 Oct 2022, 7pm
Audio-described and captioned performances: Sat 29 Oct 2022, 2pm and Wed 18 Jan 2023
Captioned performances: Sat 12 Nov and Thu 8 Dec 2022, 2pm
Relaxed, BSL-integrated and hand-held captioned performances: Thu 15 Dec 2022 and Sat 7 Jan 2023, 2pm
Post-show talk: Fri 2 Dec 2022 (free to same-day ticket holders)
Presented by the Barbican. The Royal Shakespeare Company is supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
Miranda Curtis CMG – Lead Production Supporter of My Neighbour Totoro
The work of the RSC Literary Department is generously supported by the Drue and H.J. Heinz II Charitable Trust
My Neighbour Totoro: Teacher CPD Day
Royal Shakespeare Company
Thu 14 Oct 2022
Barbican Centre
This session will run from 9:30am to 3.00pm
Age guidance: 18+ (Suitable for English, Drama, Art, Media, IT and Music teachers at either primary or secondary level)
£65 plus booking fee
My Neighbour Totoro: Student Insight Sessions
Royal Shakespeare Company
Thu 17 & Thu 24 Nov 2022
Barbican Theatre
11am
£4 per student + £25 person (incl. staff) to watch the matinee performance of My Neighbour Totoro
An Anatomy of Melancholy
UK
Selected songs by John Dowland
Directed by Netia Jones
Countertenor Iestyn Davies
Lute Thomas Dunford
Thu 27–Sun 30 Oct 2022 (5 performances)
The Pit
8pm on Thu 27 & Fri 28 Oct; 4pm & 9pm on Sat 29 Oct; 4pm only on Sun 30 Oct 2022
1 hour/no interval
Age guidance: 12+
£35 plus booking fee
Press performance: Thursday 27 October 2022, 9pm
BSL interpreted and Audio-described performance: Sat 29 Oct 2022, 4pm
Produced by the Barbican
These performances have been kindly supported by Wellcome
The UK Drill Project
HighRise Entertainment
The Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award 2022
UK
Written and Directed by Dominic Garfield
Thu 3–Sat 12 Nov 2022 (10 performances)
The Pit
7.45pm; no performances on Sun 6 Nov 2022
1 hour 30 mins/no interval
Age limit: 14+ (contains some upsetting themes of an adult nature)
£18 plus booking fee; £5 Young Barbican tickets available
Press performance: Fri 4 Nov 2022, 7.45pm
BSL-interpreted performance followed by BSL-interpreted post-show talk (free to same-day ticket holders): Tue 8 Nov 2022, 7.45pm
Relaxed performance: Wed 9 Nov 2022, 7.45pm
Presented and co-produced by the Barbican
Perfect Show for Rachel
Zoo Co
The Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award 2022
UK
Fri 18–Sat 26 Nov 2022 (8 performances)
The Pit
7pm; also 2pm on Sat 19 and Sat 26 Nov 2022; no performances on Mon 21, Tue 22, and Wed 23 Nov 2022
1 hour 10 mins/no interval
14+
£18 plus booking fee; £5 Young Barbican tickets available
Press performance: Sat 19 Nov 2022, 7pm
All performances are Relaxed, and will include creative captioning, live captioning, and an integrated BSL performer in the cast
Presented and co-produced by the Barbican
About the Barbican
A world-class arts and learning organisation, the Barbican pushes the boundaries of all major art forms including dance, film, music, theatre and visual arts. Its creative learning programme further underpins everything it does. Over a million people attend events annually, hundreds of artists and performers are featured, and more than 300 staff work onsite. The architecturally renowned centre opened in 1982 and comprises the Barbican Hall, the Barbican Theatre, The Pit, Cinemas 1, 2 and 3, Barbican Art Gallery, a second gallery The Curve, public spaces, a library, the Lakeside Terrace, a glasshouse conservatory, conference facilities and three restaurants. The City of London Corporation is the founder and principal funder of the Barbican Centre.
The Barbican is home to Resident Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra; Associate Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra; Associate Ensembles the Academy of Ancient Music and Britten Sinfonia, Associate Producer Serious, and Artistic Partner Create. Our Artistic Associates include Boy Blue, Cheek by Jowl, Deborah Warner, Drum Works and Michael Clark. The Los Angeles Philharmonic are the Barbican’s International Orchestral Partner, the Australian Chamber Orchestra are International Associate Ensemble at Milton Court, and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra are International Associate Ensemble.
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