Output details

Against Oblivion (Part 2)

Against Oblivion Part 2 is the second part of an ongoing series of music theatre works exploring musical communication through theatre, action, performance and multi-media beyond the conventions of opera. Each part of the series is self-contained and represents a new, separate and independent output of the research project. The research element focuses on the role of narrative in music-based theatre, especially the move away from naturalistic narrative in favour of an equal expression through physical action, image, sound, text etc, and the rise of new collaborative devising processes as an effective alternative to conventional roles played by composer, director, choreographer and performer.

The subject matter of the series concerns the importance of memory in the face of the extremes of human experience. Part 1 (2007), concerned the legacy of violence and conflict, whereas Part 2 concerns a more personal contemplation of our individual legacies, referencing celebrity culture with its empty and vacuous extremes, alongside allusions to the genuinely creative and pioneering.

The research questions are:

1. What is the significance of physical action in musical performance, and how does the discourse of action and image combine effectively with musical discourse?

2. Can new collaborative devising processes be an effective alternative to the conventional roles played by composer, director, choreographer and performer?

3. What is the role of narrative in music-based theatre, beyond the conventions of opera?

This last question was explored through the use of psalmody as a narrative device, anachronistically using plainchant to tell the life stories of the characters. Rather than simply accompanying action and text with music, this piece uses the act of musical performance itself as means of making the aural physical.