BAM Presents HE DID WHAT? A Free Animated Opera Short Screened Outdoors

BAM Artistic Director David Binder's first Next Wave season steps outside the theaters into the street with He Did What?, a humorous, animated opera and public art project. The 10-minute film is projected onto the façade of the Peter Jay Sharp Building on a continuous loop between 7 and 10pm from Oct 27 to Nov 2. The public will watch it on the sidewalks and listen to the music on headsets provided by BAM, free of charge. The decidedly wacky plot of two octogenarians concocting a "hit" on a cheating husband is conveyed through a graffiti-like visual style, operatic vocals (sung by Doreen Curran, Sylvia O'Brien, and Dan Reardon), and a cacophonous orchestral soundtrack. Created by the Belfast-based Dumbworld and nominated for a Total Theatre Award by the Irish National Opera, He Did What? is an experiential project that demonstrates the two creators' mission to create art works for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Brian Irvine's music has been commissioned, broadcast, and performed all over the world by many performers and organizations, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Welsh National Opera, RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Irish National Opera, and Red Note Ensemble. He has collaborated with many different artists, including Seamus Heaney, Cy Twombly, Keiji Haino, Eduard Bersudsky, David Holmes, and Jennifer Walshe. He has won two British Composer Awards, BBC Radio 3 Jazz Award, and the prestigious Paul Hamlyn Composers Award. Irvine is a co-artistic director of the creative production company Dumbworld and is a professor of music at Ulster University.

John McIlduff is a writer, stage director, and filmmaker. His work spans opera, television, film, theatre, music videos, commercials and installations. Originally from Belfast, he studied at L'École de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris, where he still lives. His debut feature film Behold the Lamb premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was awarded Best Screenplay at Thessaloniki International Film Festival and Best Director at the Arras International Film Festival. Theater works include directing the Fringe First and Herald Angel winning The Patient Gloria,Crime and Punishment, Postcards from Dumbworld, The Oldest Woman in Limerick, and Shelter me from the Rain. John is Co-Artistic Director of the creative production company Dumbworld.