Bristol Old Vic On Screen and Complicité Will Present The Live Broadcast of DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD

Time Out Bristol Old Vic today announced that its first "on-location" live broadcast will take place later this month at The Lowry, Salford.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, the acclaimed five-star hit production from theatre pioneers Complicité, will be broadcast live around the world in partnership with Bristol Old Vic On Screen and MyWorld on 27, 28 & 29 April whilst the production runs at The Lowry.

The production has been enthralling audiences since it opened at Bristol Old Vic earlier this year and the partnership between Bristol Old Vic and Complicité means more audiences will now be able to access this stunning staging of Olga Tokarczuk's best-selling novel.

Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead was conceived and directed by Complicité's Artistic Director and Co-Founder Simon McBurney. The piece, based on Nobel Prize-winner Olga Tokarczuk's genre-defying novel of the same name, is a rallying cry for nature and, at its heart, is a playful and profound work that asks us to consider what it means to live in harmony with the world around us, our place in the ecosystem, and the perilous consequences we all face if our connection to the natural world is lost. Featuring powerful ensemble cast including Kathryn Hunter as protagonist, Janina, the production has been heralded a theatrical "masterclass" (Guardian) and a "thrilling adaptation" (Time Out).

Bristol Old Vic's Executive Director, Charlotte Geeves, said: "We are thrilled to be sharing Complicité's breathtaking production with a worldwide audience through Bristol Old Vic On Screen. Complicité are one of the world's most innovative theatre companies; bold storytellers and theatrical pioneers. We knew immediately that their vision for Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead was the perfect fit for our on screen audiences here in the UK and across the world. We are delighted that we can make this happen at The Lowry and we hope this is the first of many partnerships with companies and venues across the UK as we look to present more world class theatre globally."

Complicité's Executive Director, Amber Massie-Blomfield, said: "An image we have returned to often in the making of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead is that of the mycelium: the remarkable network of fungi that exists deep beneath the forest floor, linking the trees by the roots and transferring water and nutrients throughout the network. A good metaphor for Olga Tokarczuk's insistent tale about the deep interconnection between humankind and nature - and the perils that await when that relationship is fractured. Great stories are like that mycelium web - they can be a way that we forge links with one another, understand ourselves as part of something bigger than ourselves. This important partnership with Bristol Old Vic, MyWorld and The Lowry will enable our story to connect with new audiences in new corners, forging a new solidarity."

Bristol Old Vic On Screen is the digital strand of the theatre's work set up in 2021 to provide the live theatre experience digitally to people anywhere in the world. This Live Broadcast is being produced in association with MyWorld, and marks the final stage of a pioneering research project bringing together the worlds of Art and Science to investigate audience immersion in live and digital theatre experiences. Over 100 audience members were tested in theatre over the course of ten performances, with over 300 people watching from home. The audience wore bio-monitor wristbands to record their heart rate, skin temperature, movement and other physiological responses. The findings from both groups enabled Bristol Old Vic to adapt the shooting of the live stream night-by-night to further improve the show and shape the Live Broadcast from The Lowry.

This will be the first time that Bristol Old Vic On Screen has filmed and live broadcast a production from another venue with its expert team and resources delivering the experience to a global audience live from The Lowry.