Karen Cecilia Will Premiere TIMESTAMP in Australia in 2025

The Theremin. Just the sound of the instrument sounds mystical. A modern-day instrument that is fast becoming a dying art. What the Theremin needs is a resurgence like the Omnichord to make it cool again. Step front of stage Karen Cecilia, Theremin player and theatre performer who will present her show TIMESTAMP at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2025 with the Theremin front and centre. Following performances at Edinburgh Fringe Cecilia will bring the show to Australia with dates to be announced.

The Theremin was possibly made most famous and first introduced to a modern audience by The Beach Boys with the song Good Vibrations and then appeared in other modern music including by The White Stripes. So what is a Theremin? It's an electronic instrument that is played without physical contact, it looks like the artist is conjuring up the ethereal electronic sound by moving their hands as if conjuring magic. It was invented in 1920 by Russian physicist Leon Theremin and patented in the US in 1928 and used in compositions by composers including Percy Grainger and Paul Hindemith.

Cecilia, also a playwright, hails from Brooklyn, NYC and her work has been seen in the UK. Her show TIMESTAMP will be presented at Edinburgh Fringe and explores social constructs through the point of view of two women. The show looks at what it means to be a woman and challenges the expectations imposed upon us by a patriarchal society. The strong feminist piece shows each performer differing in expression whilst bringing a common thread to the story that binds them together.

As a leading Theremin player, Cecilia has cemented her reputation as an artist and expert on this unique instrument. In TIMESTAMP she is able to bring together her abilities as a playwright and musician to share important messages around being a female in modern society. Cecilia played the Theremin and acted in the 2024 show Falling Sideways Off The Edge Of The Earth in NYC. That same year, she was also a Thereminist in COMPOSITE, a short film.

In TIMESTAMP musician and playwright Karen Cecilia along with Emilee Lord, dancer and visual artist name the expectations they have each combatted and then assert what they chose instead. From “pretty, obedient, sexy, and chaste” to the overwhelming expectation of motherhood and a list of what they have made of their lives instead, the performance shows, says, describes, and dances what they have named themselves and chosen to become.

Australian audiences will love the opportunity to see a master of the Theremin and will also be sure to find a lot to love in the Australian premiere of TIMESTAMP. More information to be announced soon including details of performances at Edinburgh Fringe and in Australia.