Clod Ensemble’s On The High Road. Credit Hugo Glendinning.
Following on from the successful 2018 Placebo tour, Clod Ensemble will premiere On The High Road at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall this April, before it embarks on a UK tour.
A disparate group of people find themselves caught in a terrible storm On The High Road. Whether old or young, pilgrim or party-goer, they must all seek refuge under the same roof. As the night draws in, they dream, pray, dance, party and fight – waiting for the dawn to come. At once dance, theatre and gig – On The High Road’s turbulent blend of movement and music defies categorisation.
This highly anticipated new production by Clod Ensemble, is a gripping, vivid piece of theatre which combines a stark monochrome design, kaleidoscopic movement and exhilarating music. The central image feels especially relevant in a world in which difference and intolerance, displacement, refuge and climate change are omnipresent, and we must work out how to live together.
Portrait – Credit Daniele Fummo
Following its run at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall (24-25 April), the production will tour to CAST, Doncaster (8 May), New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth (15-16 May) and Oxford Playhouse (20-21 May). Directed by Suzy Willson, a dynamic company of outstanding dancers, actors and singers warp time and perspective to create an epic moving sculpture. We watch human beings as if under a microscope, attempting to share space within their homes, cities, states and continents.
Paul Clark’s original score counterpoints wind howls, downpours and thunderclaps with the brilliance of the human voice. Twisted classical textures stumble into drunken bar-room pianos, and mournful songs build to pulsating clubby rhythms. Featuring live performances from Irish folk singer Thomas McCarthy (Gradam Ceoil TG4’s Singer of the Year 2019), acclaimed soprano Melanie Pappenheim and renowned cabaret singer George Heyworth, one half of Bourgeois & Maurice, the production will offer a true gig experience.
