Living Structures, in co-production with Teatro Español and Falmouth University’s Academy of Music and Theatre Arts, will unleash Leviathan, a live theatre spectacle, on London, at Hackney Downs Studios from 15 July to 26 July 2014 at 9PM.
The latest work from international artists collective Living Structures is inspired by Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Reimagining Captain Ahab’s relentless pursuit of the great white whale, Leviathan is imbued with the monochrome colours, geometric shapes and functionality of Russian Constructivism.
Living Structures takes the audience on an oceanic journey in which the audience becomes part of the operations onboard the vessel. Surrounded by sailor aerialists, they move giant strips of blubber, encounter roaring seas and hunt creatures of the deep to the haunting choruses of their widows who sing from shore of their loss, mourning and heart break.
Involved in the action from the beginning, audience members are placed in the role of shipmates, signing up to join the crew on board. Together the cast and audience witness the survival of Ishmael as he emerges from the ocean and starts to tell his story.
From then on, as the chain of events unravels, the audience relives the crew’s adventures, with salt and rum on their lips they get to taste the dreams of those long forgotten seas.
Leviathan is Living Structures’ second large-scale show following Cart Macabre which ran December 2010 in collaboration with London’s The Old Vic Tunnels.
Living Structures was founded by Klaus Kruse in 2007 with four key collaborators, Ula Dajerling, Dugald Ferguson, Verity Standen and Dani d’Emilia.
Living Structures operates as a multi-lingual international collective of artists, each working across several disciplines including performance, installation, movement, design, lighting and scenography.
For Leviathan, Klaus Kruse is artistic director and scenographer, Dani d’Emilia (Pip) is assistant director, performer and devisor, Ula Dajerling is visual director, performer and devisor, Verity Standen (Ahab) is musical director, composer, performer, and Dugald Ferguson (Ishmael) is performer and devisor.
The company is collaborating with students from Falmouth University's Academy of Music and Theatre Arts. Leviathan is produced by Natalie Richardson for Konzept Arts & Ideas.