A Capella Voice Theatre Inspired by the Heroines of Dickens with Melanie Pappenheim and Rebecca Askew
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Jilted a capella voice theatre inspired by the heroines of Dickens with Melanie Pappenheim and Rebecca Askew "A delightful tour de force" Ralph Oswick, Natural Theatre Company Flam Productions is two extraordinary performers, Melanie Pappenheim (Dr Who, Dr Dee) and Rebecca Askew (The Shout, Korasong Radio) who work in collaboration with different composers and Director Emma Bernard to curate and perform works of voice theatre which are witty and virtuosic, yet light in touch. Jilted is their second production, following on from their inaugural work Flam . With Flam ’s trademark combination of humour and pathos, Jilted takes as its starting point a modern day relationship between one of Dickens’s most striking characters, Miss Havisham, the aging, jilted bride in Great Expectations and his own wife, Catherine Hogarth, from whom he separated after 19 years of marriage and ten children. As Catherine attempts to organize Miss Havisham’s belongings in order to move house, the two women needle, irritate each other, and compete for attention, a scenario which creates an encounter where vocal gymnastics take centre stage. Thanks to the exceptional vocal and dramatic skills of Pappenheim and Askew, and the equal talent of their collaborators, director Emma Bernard and composers Mike Henry, Jocelyn Pook, Jeremy Peyton Jones and Orlando Gough, Jilted is both beautiful to hear and hilarious to watch. Accessible to a broad range of audience tastes, Jilted can be adapted to a variety of performance spaces and settings. It is offered as an evening programme on its own or as one part of a double bill with Flam . About Flam “Rebecca Askew and Melanie Pappenheim are quite brilliant. They gossip, compete, sympathise and conduct a hilarious singing lesson in unison and counterpoint. Witty, touching and virtuosic, it's a little gem!" Sunday Telegraph “Rebecca Askew and Melanie Pappenheim perform a hocketing-style duet with semi- nonsensical alliteration. Beautiful to hear and funny to witness as jealous tensions emerge between the two. …The deeper darker moments spring naturally from the movement and drama; the words more about sound than meaning.” The Guardian Biographies Melanie Pappenheim ’s voice has inspired many leading contemporary composers including Jocelyn Pook, Graham Fitkin, Gavin Bryars and Orlando Gough, and may be heard on numerous television and film soundtracks including Gangs of New Yor k, Eyes Wide Shut and Doctor Who . She was a founder member of The Shout. She has worked with playright Caryl Churchill, DV8 Physical Theatre and with Marianne Elliot at the National Theatret. She has sung at Glyndebourne and London Coliseum where she appeared as Elizabeth I in Dr Dee by Damon Albarn and Rufus Norris. Melanie is currently appearing in Anthony and Cleopatra at The Globe and in late July will present a new solo performance commissioned by the Milton Keynes International Festival and MK Gallery. Melanie has composed and recorded music for several sound installations, theatre productions and radio plays, including three adaptations of works by Charles Dickens for BBC Women's Hour. Rebecca Askew has been a member of The Shout and is a regular soloist with the Voice Project in Norwich, performing work by Gwiliym Simcock, Arve Henrikson, Jan Bang, Nik Bartsch, Karen Wimhurst and Jon Baker. Rebecca has also performed in new work by Kerry Andrew, Paul Clark and Simon Allen, Jeremy Peyton-Jones and Kaffe Matthews. She also writes and performs with singer Jeremy Avis and kora player and percussionist Surahata Susso as Korasong Radio. Productions include Goalmouth directed by Luca Silvestrini and the first ever live-looped opera, Tongue-Tied directed by Emma Bernard, commissioned by ROH2. Emma Bernard is a theatre and opera director. Her credits include Peter Grimes in Beijing, Streetwise Opera's The Answer to Everything ( BFI), Fables – A Film Opera (Spitalfields Festival), My Secret Heart (Royal Festival Hall); and Critical Mass ( with composer Orlando Gough and The Shout at Almeida Opera). She directed Hearing Voices, composed by Jocelyn Pook, for BBC Concert Orchestra at Queen Elizabeth Hall and is currently collaborating with Jocelyn on a new work for the Jewish Music Institute, Drawing Life . She has also worked as a staff director at the Royal Opera House,on productions including Peter Grimes , The Gambler and Sun and Heir . Other recent projects include Upon this Rock (Metal Peterborough); Verve 2013 (Opera North Education); XX Scharnhost (Thames Festival); and 100% Norfolk (Norfolk and Norwich Festival). BOOKING DETAILS Touring upon request Performers on stage 2 Number on the road 2 Get in 2-3 hours Performing Area 5 metres x 5 metres minimum Running time 45 minutes Minimum technical requirements Reasonable acoustics for singing Basic lighting with operator Sound system for replay with operator Dressing room for two performers Table approx 750mm x 120mm (preferably old/antique) Three chairs (preferably old/antique) UK touring £1000 plus accommodation Education Singing workshops available Contact Sarah Trist @ Sarah Trist Dance Management Agency 11 Beaufort Road Kingston upon Thames KT1 2TH +44 7757 654790 [email protected] Video trailer http://vimeo.com/51295539 www.flamproductions.com www.stdma.com .