Productions - Complicite

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Credits

Conceived & Directed by Simon McBurney
in association with The Emerson String Quartet
Based on an idea by Philip Setzer
Created through improvisation by the Company with Charlotte Medcalf and Jan Knightley

Design Joanna Parker
Sound Christopher Shutt with Gareth Fry
Lighting Paul Anderson
Projections Jan Hartley
Costume Christina Cunningham
Collaborator Gerard McBurney

Emerson String Quartet* Eugene Drucker (violin), Philip Setzer (violin), Lawrence Dutton (viola), David Finckel (cello)

Performers* Geir Hytten, Liam Steel, Tam Ward, Ewan Wardrop
*Original Performers Antonio Gil Martinez, Richard Katz, Tim McMullan, Toby Sedgwick

Co-Commissioned by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Inc, the Barbican Centre London (BITE 01), the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Krannert Center, Massachussets International Arts Festival and the Berlin Festival.

The Noise of Time

Compared to Mozart yet accused of destroying culture, Dmitri Shostakovich was hailed in his own lifetime as a genius while also condemned by the Soviet regime. By the age of 21 he was an international celebrity but by middle age much of his music was not heard in his own country, let alone abroad. His life, which spanned some of the 20th century's greatest social and political events, continues to excite controversy.Complicite and the renowned Emerson String Quartet unite in this devastatingly beautiful work that contemplates the haunted life of the great Russian composer. Seamlessly finding theatrical equivalents for apparently non-theatrical material, The Noise of Time centres on the poignant sounds of the troubled composer's devastating final String Quartet, No 15 in E Flat. Darkness and illumination, projected images and musical epiphanies mingle like memories in this exquisite, multi-dimensional performance piece -- but all these elements exist only as an invitation to listen differently.

Ben Brantley - The New York Times, March 2000

'The music seems plucked from the darkness, as if strings had been turned into shadows. There are eight men onstage at that point, the four members of the Emerson String Quartet and another foursome, long-limbed figures in suits, as anonymous as the neatly dressed men in Magritte paintings. ...' More

Philip Setzer - Violinist, Emerson String Quartet

'Our collaboration with Simon McBurney and Complicite in creating and performing The Noise of Time has been one of the high points of our career. What a thrill it has been to see an idea grow under Simon's steady hand into this work of great poignancy and powerful tragedy. The constant striving for improvement, sometimes changing even the smallest detail, is always inspiring and gives all involved the sense of a continuing creative process. This is challenging and can only work in an atmosphere of complete trust and mutual respect. These elements are the underpinning of Complicite. Everyone -- director, creative team, actors, musicians, designers and production team -- contributes openly and vitally.'


		Opened March 2000 Lincoln Center New York at the John Jay College Theatre as part of the Great Performers Series. 2001 toured to London Barbican (BITE:01), Berlin Festival, Illinois Krannert Centre, John Jay College New York , Massachusetts International Arts Festival. 2002 UCLA Performing Arts Los Angeles, Bergen Festival (with the Brodsky Quartet), Vienna Festival, Bath Theatre Royal (with the Brodsky Quartet), Zurich Festival (with the Brodsky Quartet)Screened on BBC 4 in August 2002. Directed for BBC television by Trevor Hampton, from a live recording from the Barbican Theatre. Revived in 2005 for the Opera Palais Garnier, Paris and Mossovet Theatre Moscow as part of the Chekhov International Theatre Festival.