The Listening Post
Creative Direction / Programming / Script writer
The Listening Post was a music-theatre collaboration with the Postal Museum, hosted in the engineering depot of Mail Rail.
Exploring the crucial role of letters in shaping the lives and music of composers, it drew from the thousands of letters sent between Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Grace Williams, Elizabeth Maconchy and other 20th century British composers. Many of the letters would have been transported on Mail Rail, London’s former underground postal railway.
Three actors - Henry Goodman, Hugh Sachs and Mari Izzard - theatrically voiced the composers’ words, providing context and sometimes the very inspiration for chamber music performed at either end of a traverse stage to a sell-out audience.
“Absolutely blown away. An unexpected evening, captivating storytelling, bite-size classical music - totally magical.”
“Wonderful setting, sensitive script and hugely talented young players. Great to discover some new-to-me female composers”
“A fascinating evening. I learnt so much about the relationships of the composers featured, and thought the choice of pieces blended beautifully”
-
Performance date: 2019
My role: Concept, programming, script, production
Part of Southbank Sinfonia’s #ConcertLab series
Venue: Mail Rail at the Postal Museum, London
Actors: Henry Goodman (Ralph Vaughan Williams), Mari Izzard (Grace Williams), Hugh Sachs (Gustav Holst)
Event photography: Miro Arva
Supported by Cockayne - Grants for the Arts, the London Community Foundation, the Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust and Ambache Charitable Trust.
