Faulty Optic / Mira Calix UK

Dead Wedding London Premiere
Conceived and directed by Faulty Optic
Music composed by Mira Calix and performed by the composer, with a chamber ensemble from Opera North

Barbican Pit >
Tue 22 - Sat 26 Jan 7.45pm
After-show discussion: Wed 23 Jan

Runs approx 80 mins with no interval

Seats £15
Online booking >

'With snatches of text, music by avant garde composer Mira Calix and a riot of visuals, Faulty Optic sends the story hurtling through time and space with an aesthetic that is part dreamscape and part brutal modernity'. The Times

‘There’s more to Faulty Optic than puppetry. Its dislocated Land of the Dead is brought to life with animated film and every type of non-verbal drama you can think of...constantly engaging.’ The Times

This reinvention of the Orpheus myth is a macabre mix of puppetry, film and opera. The story unfolds in Hades, the land of the dead - a surreal landscape populated by desperate souls and corroding memories.

Ripped apart by the fickle Bacchae, Orpheus is busy gathering his strewn body parts. If he can find Eurydice and persuade her to remarry him, they can be together for eternity, but she is desperately trying to wash something terrible away…

Cult puppetry company Faulty Optic is renowned for its haunting visual theatre, incredible automated sets, animated figures, cronked inventions and dark humour. Since 1987 its work has broken down standard conceptions of puppetry. Mira Calix's score is performed live, weaving a ghostly web of sound around the action. Her music uses jittering beats and electronic textures.
As a performer and DJ she has supported and toured with many well-known acts including Radiohead and Aphex Twin.

www.faultyoptic.co.uk >
www.miracalix.com >

Presented in association with Barbicanbite08 and Opera North
Commissioned by Opera North Projects and Manchester International Festival