Treasured
A Unique Theatrical Event
About the project
Conceived and Created by Jen Heyes.
Written and composed by by Ailís Ní Ríain.
Designed by Olivia du Monceau
Liverpool Anglican Cathedral is transformed into a living, breathing canvas of Titanic proportions delivered by a company of highly experienced creative collaborators to bring a production on an awesome and intimate scale inside the Cathedral space.
Highly accomplished and established musician Brendan Ball (co-principal trumpet and principal cornet with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra) played original music live as part of Treasured, alongside live recordings of cutting edge contemporary classical music created especially by Irish multi prize-winning classical composerAilís Ní Ríain.
Treasured is a clever, eerie, disturbing piece of work. a tale of dreams shattered, of greed which met a sorry end, of power and dominance which met the power of nature – and came off the worse.
It should be seen.
CAST
Live Music: Brendan Ball
Additional Music: Simon Chappell, Simon Cowen, Simon Griffiths, Rhys Owens
Co producer : Nick Owen
Lighting Design: Phil Saunders
Video Production: Illuminos
Aerial Work: Wired Aerial Theatre
Sound Design: Adam Sloan
Photography: Robin Kaye
The image of the Titanic speeding onward as the sea rushes towards the audience and as the ship seemed to go over the top of them the sea enveloped them and took them down. Incredible imagery, superbly narrated and with a cast that lived the moment, this really was one of the most outstanding pieces of theatre
Ailis Ni Riain’s original composition for a lone trumpet player, performed live by Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s Brendan Ball adds a strong layer to proceedings, the simplicity cuts through the evening perfectly
Metaphor and irony resound throughout – you are, quite literally, embarking on something extraordinary as you make your way to the great nave
The story of the Titanic is spectacularly reimagined in the city where the ship was registered
Successfully avoiding most of the clichés – both musical and narrative – that have a way of attaching themselves to tales of great tragedy. Not easily pigeonholed, the work incorporates storytelling, aerial theatre, dramatic projections and music in following the liner’s story from construction to collision
Treasured was concerned with class critique and the internationalism of its passenger list, a number of whose names were called during the performance in the manner of official mourning
Treasured was concerned with class critique and the internationalism of its passenger list, a nTreasured made an eloquent statement about the inescapability of history when the projection of passengers’ names settled into an image of the offices of the White Star Line in Liverpool, a building still in existence today. Respectfully lifting the lid on the archives for dramatic purposes, Treasured demonstrated that unlike the physical ruins of the super-liner, this history will never be laid to restumber of whose names were called during the performance in the manner of official mourning