Our next Rough Draft (#15) will be shown this Friday evening. It is titled Birds Flying High, and it will weave together the disparate threads of the music of the wonderful Nina Simone and Greek tragic theatre.

Director Imara Savage (our current Richard Wherrett fellow) says of the work-in-progress:

"Inspired by the music of Nina Simone and the writing of Euripides, this project will pay homage to the high priestess of soul and the high priestess of Hecate. It is a work about women with every cause to sing the blues: women with something to say about violent revolution, betrayal and revenge. How does Nina Simone's experience as an outsider in her own country find parallels in the stories told by the Greeks? What happens to women who insist on singing their own song, regardless of what society wants to hear?

Using improvisation, jamming and elements of choreography, I will use this Rough Draft to find a theatrical language with which to retell a story that traverses generations. By dusting some the glitz and glitter off the conventional musical, the cast and I will explore the possibilities the form presents for expressing rage and violence."

To get into the spirit of the work, here is some of Nina's best work (which the cast is using for inspiration). If you only have a few minutes to spare, have a look at this gem:



If you have a bit more time up your sleeve, check out this one:

 

Rough Drafts #15: Birds Flying High, Wharf 2 Theatre, 6pm, 20 July, 2012.