World Premiere of WAR CORRESPONDENTS Set for Birmingham Repertory Theatre, 24-26 April

Based on the personal experiences of journalists, critically acclaimed composer Helen Chadwick and Olivier Award winning choreographer and co-founder of Frantic Assembly Steven Hoggett present the world premiere of War Correspondents, a new song-cycle performance, coinciding with the centenary of WWI. The world premiere is at Birmingham Repertory Theatre from 24th to 26th April 2014.

The performance, which is the second collaboration between the two artists, weaves together sound extracts of interviews and wartime poetry with choreography and music to depict the extraordinary stories and life changing experiences of war journalists from across the world who risk their lives in extreme circumstances.

War Correspondents has been in development for six years. During this time, Helen Chadwick and designer Miriam Nabarro interviewed War Correspondents with experience of conflicts in Iraq, Chechnya, Georgia, Afghanistan, Liberia and Bosnia. Helen Chadwick says of the interviews:

"We interviewed one journalist who had met the sniper who tried to kill him the previous day, another who was taken hostage in Iraq, another who experienced post trauma symptoms after being held with a gun at her head and another who was wounded in Bosnia. Alongside these serious stories we were also told many intriguing incidents such as the correspondent who approaches every check point with a badger puppet in his shirt pocket, another who smuggled large quantities of muesli into Egypt, and one who was told to wear culturally appropriate underwear."

Helen Chadwick is a British musician and singer who has written over 200 songs, mainly for unaccompanied voices. She has made six solo albums and several with other artists. She composes for radio, theatre, and opera and creates song theatre performances, both solo and with her group. As a singer she has worked with Meredith Monk, Orlando Gough and for the National Theatre. Recently she has created, composed and sung in Dalston Songs and The Singing Circle, both commissioned by the Royal Opera House.

Steven Hoggett is the winner of 2009 Olivier award for Best Theatre Choreographer for the National Theatre of Scotland's Black Watch. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Once on Broadway and nominated for an Olivier Award for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. He is the co-founder of Frantic Assembly, whose credits with the company include Lovesong, Beautiful Burnout, Stockholm, Pool (No Water) and Dirty Wonderland. Other recent credits include The Light Princess (National Theatre), The Full Monty (Sheffield Theatres), Rigoletto (Metropolitan Opera), The Wolves in the Walls (National Theatre of Scotland).

The cast for War Correspondents includes Helen Chadwick, James Lailey, Michael Mears, Oliver Senton and Rebecca Thorny.

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