Illusions at Hull City of Culture and Royal Festival Hall
20 July 2017 - news
In conversation with Sara Mohr-Pietsch at the Royal Festival Hall.
Illusions, my collaboration with performance artist David Hoyle, was premiered in its new extended version at Hull 2017 City of Culture on 2nd July as part of the PRS Foundation New Music Biennial. The following week it was performed at the Southbank Centre – my Royal Festival Hall debut! The audience response was wonderful, and the press too. The Guardian said:
Philip Venables’ collaboration with performance artist David Hoyle, however, is astonishingly powerful, with Hoyle’s garishly made-up face delivering a rant about everything from elections and gender to sodomy and revolution, precisely edited to Venables’ score with its echoes of expressionist music theatre and Weimar cabaret. Scabrous, fierce, and sometimes very funny, it’s a perfect fusion of music and image.
The BBC covered the events, and the piece was broadcast along with an interview with me and Sara Mohr-Pietsch on 15th July on Hear and Now (albeit without the video component, of course). The broadcast can be heard here on iPlayer – my segment is from 1h42 onwards.
Illusions was recorded on 10th July in the studio for NMC , for my forthcoming album next year. Huge thanks to the London Sinfonietta, Richard Baker and Sound Intermedia for wonderful performances, and to the PRSF for their support.
Performance of Illusions at the Royal Festival Hall