A new music performance by Frank Buecheler, with music by Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy) and design by Simon Wainwright (imitating the dog).
In May, by German writer and producer Frank Alva Buecheler, takes the form of a series of letters from a son to a father. Each has been set to music by the renowned musician, singer and leader of the pop group The Divine Comedy, Neil Hannon, to form a contemporary music theatre piece in 24 songs.
The letters cover the last months of a man in the advanced stages of cancer, and undergoing a period of chemotherapy. He has sent everyone in his life away – his father, his lover – and we are left to puzzle, as they must: for what reason?
Sung from the perspective of Anna, his bereaved lover, the piece is a moving and at times funny meditation in song: on life, family, fathers and sons, and the perspective that death might bring to our sense of the beauty and fragility of the world.
Featuring Neil Hannon's trademark music, stunning digital images and live string ensemble, this is a first trial performance before further development.
Original text: Frank Alva Buecheler
English Translation: Tim Clarke
Music/arrangement: Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy)
Direction: Matt Fenton (Live at LICA)
Design/Digital projections: Simon Wainwright (imitating the dog)
Ensemble: Fredrik Holm (piano), The Ligeti Quartet (strings), Leentje Van de Cruys (vocals)
Please note that Neil Hannon/The Divine Comedy are not performing in this production.
