Rosemary Brown and the So-called Dead

When director & writer Toria Banks (We Are Hera opera company) first told me about Rosemary Brown and the piano music she said was communicated to her by the spirits of famous dead composers such as Liszt and Chopin, I was fascinated and eagerly bought a copy of Rosemary's autobiography. When Toria then asked if I'd collaborate on some kind of staged work exploring Rosemary's experience, I jumped at the chance and started searching for artist residencies where we could start exploring ideas.

Enter TalentLAB, a 10-day international arts festival and Research & Development programme for new interdisciplinary work, taking place throughout Luxembourg City in May/June each year. In a pre-residency workshop also supported by TalentLAB, Toria and I discussed the big questions about the piece and made some decisions, such as thinking of it as an 'opera without singing' where the drama is driven by piano music and spoken + physical performance, and the need for a cast of two, both who can play the piano and act. 

credit: ​Bohumil KOSTOHRYZ

Pianist Cathy Krier and actress Claire Lacey joined us for the 10-day residency to generate and test a wealth of ideas. It was an illuminating process for me; I got to try out new creative methods and learn from an actor and theatre director's different ways of working. We discovered a lot through the residency about the piece - how the pianos on stage also became characters, how the two performers could both be Rosemary or a host of different people, and for me personally, how to not be afraid of the seemingly bizarre and keep away from the obvious. Crucially, it was our first time to work together and we learnt we make a great team!

We were one of 6 groups on the residency and it was fantastic to meet the fellow international teams. I really enjoyed seeing the wealth & breadth of approaches, topics, genres and artistry among the groups. To close the residency, we all gave 20-minute work-in-progress performances in the state theatres of Luxembourg and received feedback from each other and the audience. 

Next steps: We Are Hera opera company will support further development of the show and are currently looking for co-producers. Watch this space for future announcements!