Birmingham Repertory Theatre Announces World Premiere of COLD CALLING: THE ARCTIC PROJECT

Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, two of Birmingham's most iconic arts offerings, join together next month (September 2016) for the world premiere of COLD CALLING: THE ARCTIC PROJECT, a unique and captivating live performance piece.

Cold Calling: The Arctic Project will fuse film installation, an original score and dialogue in the setting of Birmingham Repertory Theatre's newest auditorium The STUDIO.

This new production is performed by a 20-piece chamber orchestra alongside actors Jan Pearson (Doctors) and Waleed Akhtar (Back Down - Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen) against the backdrop of beautiful Arctic landscapes for a powerful exploration of love, loneliness and loss.

Cold Calling: The Arctic Project is created by esteemed musician, composer, music and Sound Designer Nick Powell, who has worked extensively across theatre, television and film including Wolf Hall/Bring Up The Bodies (RSC/West End/Broadway), The King's Speech (Birmingham Repertory Theatre), Othello (National Theatre) and Dunsinane (RSC).

Nick says: "When Roxana Silbert took over as Artistic Director of The REP she wanted to forge stronger links with the CBSO. Jointly, they commissioned me to compose a piece for chamber orchestra which we could expand into a whole performance for orchestra, actors and projection.

"I've always been fascinated by the quality of light in the Arctic so going from there I spent ten days in the most northern part of Norway where in summer it never goes dark. Staying in a hut alongside a Fjord I wrote most of the music taking inspiration from nature and what was happening in my life at the time."

The result is a breathtakingly powerful performance including elements of the strange and surprising. A celebration of life and a meditation upon death that sends audiences on a unique and absorbing musical odyssey.

Writer and director of Cold Calling: The Arctic Project is Anthony Neilson, a Scottish playwright who recently collaborated with Nick Powell on Unreachable (Royal Court). Renowned for his pioneering and groundbreaking work his other theatre credits include: Narrative (Royal Court) Relocated (Royal Court), God In Ruins (Soho Theatre), Realism (National Theatre of Scotland/Edinburgh Lyceum) and The Menu (National Theatre).

Cold Calling: The Arctic Project features film installation created by Simon Wainwright, Artistic Director at imitating the dog (ITD). Simon is a composer, sound and visual artist and video/projection designer, as well as theatre-maker and musician. Working in collaboration, he produces work for Leeds collective Invisible Flock's productions Book of Beasts in the Nightimes, Bring the Happy and If you Go Away. He created and produced the video for the UK musical Soul Sister. With imitating the dog he created the video score for the opera In May written by Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy and A Farewell to Arms (Birmingham Repertory Theatre).

Other members of the creative team are Lighting Designer Chahine Yavroyan and Orchestrator Ian Stephens. The conductor isJonathan Bloxham who was appointed Assistant Conductor of City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra earlier this year.

Cold Calling: The Arctic Project will receive its world premiere at Birmingham Repertory Theatre on Friday 16 September, followed by just two more performances on Saturday 17 September. Don't miss this dreamlike and yet vividly raw journey through how it feels to be human and alive.

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