Philip Venables

A composer of ferocious dramatic instincts
— Alex Ross

Tag: 2023/24 Season

2023/24 Season

Faggots and their Friends announced at the Ruhrtriennale

The Faggots and their Friends Between Revolutions has just been announced in this year’s Ruhrtriennale in Bochum, Germany. Four performances will take place from 17th—20th August 2024 in the Jahrhunderthalle Bochum. It’s an exciting festival programme, covering theatre, music, dance and art, and I’m delighted that we get to share the festival with so many artists I admire, such as Isabelle Huppert, Romeo Castellucci, PJ Harvey, Kirill Serebrennikov and Marlene Freitas, and many others to discover.

Tickets and more information here.

15 April 2024
Residency at MacDowell

I’m incredibly lucky to have been awarded a 4-week residency at MacDowell Artists Colony in New Hampshire, USA, where I am currently through to 14th March. The Irving Fine Studio, where I live and work, is in the picture. It’s a beautiful time to be here — the snow is crisp, the woods are incredibly peaceful, and the deer loiter around. I’m spending the time here working on a new opera to be produced next season — details to be announced in two weeks. I’m very grateful to MacDowell for inviting me, and to the other artists and writers here for their inspiring company. The names on the wall show previous inhabitants of this studio — including friends and colleagues like Sivan Eldar, Du Yun, Errolyn Wallen and Ted Hearn — and also Meredith Monk!

28 February 2024
Faggots and their Friends announced at Holland Festival

The Faggots and their Friends Between Revolutions has just been announced in this year’s Holland Festival in Amsterdam. The performances will take place on 13th and 14th June 2024 in the Muziekgebouw. It’s a wonderful festival to be part of, covering theatre, music, dance and art, and I’m delighted that we get to share the festival with so many artists I admire, such as Marina Abramović, Dries Verhoeven, Forced Entertainment and Trajal Harrell, and other artists that I’m excited to discover.

Tickets and more information here.

28 February 2024
Great reviews for FATFBR at the Southbank Centre

The Faggots and their Friends Between Revolutions completed its four-night run at the Southbank Centre last week to packed, lively audiences. Here is a selection of the reviews, all very positive.

“a stripped-back, intensely emotional production […] an intelligent and playful attempt at tackling a challenging subject matter” — British Theatre Guide.

“a transformative theatrical experience, blending fantasy and history in a radical fairy tale that challenges societal norms […] a must-see for those seeking a truly touching queer performance” — West End Evenings

“A mesmerising celebration of the queer experience which is both provocative and poignant.” — Everything Theatre

“A defiant representation of a liberal manifesto, the performance is a festival of self-expression and a joyous reclaiming of identity […] a show you’d want to see multiple times just to ensure you haven’t missed a moment.” — West End Best Friend

“a true gaze at otherness and the power of allies.” — Broadway World

“an absorbing piece of music theatre that both challenges and beguiles its audience.[…] a work that almost defies description. Part vaudeville, part cabaret, and infused with dance, opera, and spoken word, they have created the ultimate queer gesamtkunstwerk whose originality and daring are breathtaking […] Venables’ score requires a myriad of instruments that span several centuries. Lute songs are interspersed with the urbane accompaniment from a saxophone, a theorbo whisks us back to Elizabethan times, before we’re jolted back to the present day by rave music complete with strobe lighting. No musical genre goes unexplored. In lesser hands, this could descend into mere pastiche, but Venables is too skilled a composer to fall into that trap. His score is audacious, vibrant and challenging […] At times dark, yet often laugh out loud funny, The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions is an extravagant, subversive, audacious, thrilling work that demands to be seen, as there’s still much to be learnt from this queer retelling of history.” — MusicOHM

“an Avant Garde production discussing discrimination, sexual liberty and gender diversity within the LGBTQIA+ community. […] this show offers a lot for viewers keen to experience something stylistically innovative, powerful and uplifting.” — London Theatre Reviews

“Musically it’s a delight from start to finish and the music underpins this show, allowing the narrative to glide and slip, occasionally veer off the road completely, but ever-present, ever-changing selection of musical styles and superbly played instruments brings it firmly back on track.” — GScene

Image by Camilla Greenwell.

2 February 2024
Illusions at Into The Open Festival, Berlin.

The International Ensemble Modern Academy are reprising their wonderful performance of Illusions at the Into The Open Festival in Berlin. They performed the piece for the first time at Time Of Music Festival in Viitasaari, Finland, in July 2022. On 25th January 2024 they bring it to the Kühlhaus Berlin to Into The Open, under this year’s theme: Visions. The performance will also feature works by Alvin Lucier and Mauricio Kagel, and will be conducted by Raimonda Skabeikaité with sound design by Moritz Fischer.

More information and tickets here.

16 January 2024
Residency at Yaddo

I’ve been awarded a 5-week residency at the Corporation of Yaddo, in Saratoga Springs, NY, which I’m undertaking through October and November. My studio is in the picture. It’s a beautiful time to be here — the trees in Fall are beautiful. I’m spending the time here working on a new opera to be produced next season. I’m very grateful to Yaddo for inviting me, and to the other artists and writers here for their company.

30 October 2023
Denis & Katya announced at Theater Erfurt

Theater Erfurt has announced its new production of Denis & Katya in the coming 23/24 season, The production of the german-language translation by Robert Lehmeier will be directed by Markus Weckesser, and will take place in the round in the Studio.Box venue. The premiere will be on 1st Feburary 2024. Tickets and further information is available here.

22 August 2023
4.48 Psychose announced at the Bayerische Theater-Akademie München

The Bayerische Theaterakademie in Munich has announced a new production this coming autumn of the opera 4.48 Psychose (the german-language version of 4.48 Psychosis, in the translation of the Sarah Kane by Durs Grünbein). The production, directed by Balázs Kovalik and conducted by Maria Fitzgerald, will be a collaboration between Masters Students from the Theatre Academy August Everding and Munich Conservatoire of Music and Theatre. The premiere will be on 23rd October 2023 in the Reaktorhalle, with further performances on 25th, 27th and 29th October. Tickets and more information here.

17 August 2023
Danish premiere of Denis & Katya in Aalborg and Copenhagen.

Denis & Katya will have its Danish premier on Thursday 17th August (schools performance) and Friday 18th August 2023 (public performance) as part of the Aalborg Opera Festival. This is a brand new production by Kind Of Opera, created by director Selma Mongelard and creative producer Trine Heide. The production then moves to Copenhagen for more shows at the Folketeatret on 25th and 26th August. More info and tickets are available here: https://kindofopera.dk/projekter/deniskatya.

The team is:
Soprano: Katinka Fogh Vindelev
Baritone: David Kragh Danving
Celli Marie Louise Lind, Kirstine Elise Pedersen, Marta Gudmundsdottir, Mihai Fagarasan
Musical Direction: Ian Ryan
Director: Selma Mongelard
Lighting design: Malte Hauge
Sound design: Tommy Kamp Vestergaard (…who also produced the wonderful recording of My Favourite Piece is the Goldberg Variations)
Producer: Trine Heide

Photo by Allan Toft for Kind Of Opera.

8 August 2023
Denis & Katya announced at Wiener Kammeroper

On the same day as our wonderful premiere of Denis & Katya in Pittsburgh, Musiktheater an der Wein announced their new production of Denis & Katya to open their 2023/24 season at the Wiener Kammeroper. The production of the german-language translation by Robert Lehmeier will be directed by Marcos Darbyshire, featuring Hasti Molavian and Timothy Connor. The premiere will be on 27th September 2023. Tickets and further information is available here.

I will also be leading a public masterclass with the performers on 3rd September. Tickets for that are available here.

7 May 2023