Click here for the Bow Down photogallery.

“There were two sisters who will die,
One drowns wet and one drowns dry”

Bow Down is a macabre folk tale of thwarted desire, unnatural betrayal and violent jealousy, where two sisters destroy each over the love of a Suitor.

Originally devised in 1977 by Sir Harrison Birtwistle and Tony Harrison, our new re-imagined production opens tonight at the Brighton Festival before touring to other UK festivals this summer – don’t miss it!

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17 & 18 May – Brighton Festival
20 & 21 May – Norfolk & Norwich Festival
13 June – Spitalfields Music Summer Festival
12 & 14 July – Latitude Festival

Our latest blog posts:
On the origins of Bow Down
Meet the cast of Bow Down
Mana Shibata: On meeting Sir Harrison Birtwistle…
Bow Down: behind the scenes video
Finding my rythm in Bow Down
Rehearsing Bow Down: an atypical process
Going beyond the music with Bow Down
Bow Down: a special kind of fairy tale
Beyond the story: the set and locations of Bow Down
Bow Down performance spaces

Find out more about Bow Down
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By Thomas O’Connell (performer)

At the start at the rehearsals we had little information about where were going to be performing. Now and then Director, Frederic Wake-Walker and other members of the production team would drop a little hint…’If she wears high heels in the forest, she’ll sink’.

We now know we are performing in an old market in Brighton (part of the Brighton Festival 17 & 18 May), a forest in Norwich (part of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival 20 & 21 June), a warehouse in London (Spitalfields Music Summer Festival, 13 June) and an open air stage at Latitude (12 & 14 July).

The most individual place I’ve performed in previously is in an office block. Not exciting! This is all a new experience to and one I’m looking forward to.

The piece is dark in its nature and I feel each venue will in some way will complement the piece in a new way, giving it a new dynamic which, without a doubt, will enhance our performance.

They all strike me as being ominous venues, however for me, the most exciting is probably the ‘secret forest’ as part of our performance at the Norfolk & Norwich Festival.  Forests are fascinating places and this is a fascinating piece so I expect the two will together create a really impressive experience. I am thoroughly looking forward to this whole experience and cannot wait to perform Bow Down – hope we see you there!

Our latest blog posts:
On the origins of Bow Down
Meet the cast of Bow Down
Mana Shibata: On meeting Sir Harrison Birtwistle…
Bow Down: behind the scenes video
Finding my rythm in Bow Down
Rehearsing Bow Down: an atypical process
Going beyond the music with Bow Down
Bow Down: a special kind of fairy tale
Beyond the story: the set and locations of Bow Down
Bow Down in pictures

Find out more about Bow Down
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By Benjamin Mahns-Mardy (performer)

As we near the final stages of the rehearsal process and bring together the piece, the overall look is becoming clearer. It will be enhanced tremendously by the venues where we will be performing: The Municipal Market (Brighton, 17 & 18 May), a secret forest location (Norwich & Norfolk Festival, 20 & 21 May), The Village Underground (Spitalfields Music Festival, 13 June) and an open air stage (Latitude Festival, 12 & 14 July). Each one of these spaces is completely different and will bring a new depth to the performance.

The locations, the costumes and the set have helped us re-devise Bow Down for a contemporary audience. For instance, our costumes play strongly towards the modern nature of the production and have been influenced by what we wear off-stage.

The set is structured around a mangled, rusty child’s roundabout. Part of it in perfect working order, the other part mangled, made of twisted sections of steel, battered and tortured. Although the roundabout is not always the focus of the piece, it will always be on the audience’s mind.

The technical side of the production, like the lighting is different compared to anything else I have worked on before. What makes it more interesting is that we cannot reproduce the same lighting at each location. For example, in the secret forest location (Norwich & Norfolk Festival, 20 & 21 May) we won’t have access to a lighting rig and there has been talk about using fire instead!
The idea of flames and other unorthodox theatrical lighting methods is a good way to picture the production: good and evil, light and dark, the Brothers Grimm’s Life Lessons.

When coming to see a performance of Bow Down, people can expect to see an ancient tale with a contemporary feel, keeping true to the creators’ intentions but presenting the material in a new and exciting way.

Our latest blog posts:
On the origins of Bow Down
Meet the cast of Bow Down
Mana Shibata: On meeting Sir Harrison Birtwistle…
Bow Down: behind the scenes video
Finding my rythm in Bow Down
Rehearsing Bow Down: an atypical process
Going beyond the music with Bow Down
Bow Down: a special kind of fairy tale
Bow Down performance spaces

Find out more about Bow Down
Book tickets
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Check out our YouTube channel

By Anita-Joy Uwajeh (performer)

I think that Bow Down combines the best of fairy tales and soap operas. It has rivalry, jealousy, love, good versus evil and a cliff-hanger. It is Cinderella and Snow White wrapped up in a dramatic nightmare.

In Bow Down, I play the fair sister which transforms throughout the play to become a ghost then a harp. After being drowned by her sister, she becomes a ghost and when her body is discovered by the miller’s son, it is used to construct a harp!

There have been several interesting experiences on this project. But the ones which have stuck out the most are the different types of movements that we were able to create through identifying physical reactions to different surfaces like hot and cold, wet and dry.

Moreover what has made this process amazing is the cocktail of artistic specialties within our ensemble. We are made up of musicians, dancers, actors and singers. And because we all bring something different to the play we are able to support each other when difficulties arise.

What has been most difficult for me is adjusting my body to all the physical movements we have been doing and overcoming my fear of singing in public! So after this I am in definite need of doing some yoga and getting a massage!

But ultimately Bow Down has really challenged me because it has stretched me beyond my comfort zone and pushed me to explore my limits.

Our latest blog posts:
On the origins of Bow Down
Meet the cast of Bow Down
Mana Shibata: On meeting Sir Harrison Birtwistle…
Bow Down: behind the scenes video
Finding my rythm in Bow Down
Rehearsing Bow Down: an atypical process
Going beyond the music with Bow Down
Beyond the story: the set and locations of Bow Down
Bow Down performance spaces

Find out more about Bow Down
Book tickets
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Check out our YouTube channel

By Rehana Browne (performer)

At the very start of the rehearsal process, Sir Harrison Birtwistle (composer) told us that no individual performer should “specialise” in a particular skill and so we are all in a constant state of flux; playing instruments, singing, dancing and acting to create the inter-dependent musical and dramatic elements which give Bow Down its unique cubist feel.

As a classically trained instrumentalist, it has been exciting to explore other methods of communication and I have also found it fascinating to learn about the connection between Bow Down and Japanese Noh theatre and Medieval music.

The way in which we approach the score, which was put together after the premiere in 1977, is unusual as it is to be used only as a starting point. The notation is unconventional; arrows indicate styles of breathing, progression from one section to another is based on either musical or physical cues and mobile repeats and three line staves introduce an improvisatory aspect. The blurring of the distinction between actor and musician is clear in directions such as “instrumental scream” and the way in which the music often reflects the spoken text.

Harrison’s music has been compared to work by the artist Paul Klee, who described his method as “taking a line for a walk”. I feel that this perfectly describes the rehearsal process so far as we have taken short melodic ideas, physical gestures, pulses and fragments of text and experimented with them to see what is created as a result.

Harrison told us that “if you do something right, everything is right. If you do something wrong, everything is wrong. You can do anything as long as you can justify it.” The responsibility of each performer as an individual as well as one of a group entity is something that I have found inspiring and liberating as well as challenging as we have needed to find freedom within the clear cyclic and forward directional structures prescribed by the score.

Follow Rehana on Twitter.

Our latest blog posts:
On the origins of Bow Down
Meet the cast of Bow Down
Mana Shibata: On meeting Sir Harrison Birtwistle…
Bow Down: behind the scenes video
Finding my rythm in Bow Down
Rehearsing Bow Down: an atypical process

Find out more about Bow Down
Book tickets
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Check out our YouTube channel

By Simon Kent (performer)

We have come to the end of the second week of Bow Down rehearsals, and what a couple of weeks it has been! I can honestly say I have never experienced rehearsals like these before, and I already can’t wait until Monday to begin week three.

Usually when beginning rehearsals, there is an awkward first day of introductions where the cast desperately try to remember one another’s names and work out who is playing what. This is followed by the read-through and discussion of ideas, usually accompanied by lots of caffeine based drinks and biscuits.

Then finally around the end of week one/beginning of week two, you have the terrifying experience of actually standing up and putting all those wonderful ideas you had into practice. This often proves to be the time I lose the ability to walk and talk at the same time.

The two weeks I have just experienced have been nothing like this (although we did consume a large quantity of biscuits!) From day one, Frederic Wake-Walker (Director) has instilled a relaxed and open atmosphere in the rehearsal room, allowing us to explore the text and stories freely. We have been concentrating a lot on the ensemble, often not actually working on the text or particular scenes but concentrating on trying to become as close as we can as a collection of performers. No-one was assigned characters, and any rehearsing of actual scenes has come from movement-based improvisations or musical impulses.

As a performer it’s often difficult to explain to family and friends what you actually do on a “normal day” in rehearsals because there really is nothing “normal” about this process. For example, yesterday I was percussionist to two classical musicians playing the shovel and chain; I tied 6’5″ Thomas O’Connell (performer) up in rope as he bounded around the room like a loose elephant; and I improvised on a full size metal roundabout for an hour. And this was all before lunch! (Obviously all these tasks have deep artistic meaning, and you will have to come and see the show for it all to make sense!)

We have yet to have a “normal day” working on Bow Down. It has been truly extraordinary and I am loving every moment of it.

Our latest blog posts:
On the origins of Bow Down
Meet the cast of Bow Down
Mana Shibata: On meeting Sir Harrison Birtwistle…
Bow Down: behind the scenes video
Finding my rythm in Bow Down

Find out more about Bow Down
Book tickets
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Check out our YouTube channel

Working with The Opera Group has been such an amazing experience (I know it may sound clichéd), but from day one everybody that I have met and interacted with from the company has been so friendly and extremely enthusiastic about this project, making me feel similar emotions. Though I have also been apprehensive because I didn’t know what being part of the Bow Down cast would involve.

This production is not like anything else that I have ever been involved in because it helps you develop and find new skills. I would of said I have very limited skills when it comes to playing an instrument, but with the support of Director Frederic Wake-Walker, Paul Wingfield (Musical Director), Pete Cant (Assistant Director), Martin Allen (Percussionist and mentor from London Sinfonietta) and the rest of the cast, I can now say I can confidently play rhythms on a drum or clave!

With every rehearsal I feel like I am starting to expand ‘Yolanda’ as a person and artist. The way that Frederic, Paul and Pete challenge me to explore different aspects of the text, movement and song provides new meaning and colour to my performance. With that said, it gives me a lot of things to reflect over at the end of the sessions so I can maintain connections that I have found throughout.

The rehearsal process has been extremely varied – some days it will involve intensive movement-based sessions and others will concentrate on music or text. But at the core of every rehearsal is the essence of ensemble building, regardless of whether you are saying lines (singing/playing or dancing) at this point of the story, you help to keep the narrative alive by embodying the energy of the performer or the themes that are being portrayed.

The impression that I get from working with The Opera Group is that they are keen to challenge what traditional operas are through their innovative way of exploring storytelling and performance aspects involved in scores such as Bow Down. I am extremely excited to show this piece and hear what the various audiences will think about it!

Our latest blog posts:
On the origins of Bow Down
Meet the cast of Bow Down
Mana Shibata: On meeting Sir Harrison Birtwistle…
Bow Down: behind the scenes video

Find out more about Bow Down
Book tickets
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Check out our YouTube channel

What is our new production of Bow Down all about? What will it sound like and look like? Watch our video from behind the scenes at the first rehearsal as our cast met composer Sir Harrison Birtwistle and got the chance to find out more about Bow Down with director Frederic Wake-Walker.

Video: with thanks to Nylon Films.

Our latest blog posts:
On the origins of Bow Down
Meet the cast of Bow Down
Mana Shibata: On meeting Sir Harrison Birtwistle…

Find out more about Bow Down
Book tickets
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Check out our YouTube channel

We’re now getting into week two of the Bow Down project and the glorious weather of today perfectly matched our mood. But what a journey so far…

I think back to our introductory day a month ago, and I notice we’ve made so much progress. Our cast consists of seven young performers, all with different specialties (actors, dancers and instrumentalists) but in this piece everyone is required to sing, move, speak and play an instrument. Imagine how nervous I was at the start! I’ve spent most of my life so far sitting still in orchestras, making sound through my oboe.

On top of that I met Sir Harrison Birtwistle! He arrived and very quietly told us what he and his team back in 1977 set out to achieve. He explained that Bow Down is neither an opera nor a play but it is a marriage of all performance art forms and it will be an opportunity for each of us to explore new ways of expression. So I’ve been doing exactly that and learning to be expressive without having my instrument as a medium. Suddenly my world has expanded beyond my oboe and my music stand!

Harrison, who started off as a clarinettist, understands how an instrument can be restricting to musicians. He told me he once went to a clarinet maker’s, picked up a tube of wood, marked randomly with chalk where he wanted the finger holes to be, and the maker simply drilled these holes in the tube. Then a poor clarinettist had to work out how he could make a half-decent sound out of this “instrument”! I suppose he got to a point where he didn’t care what sound he was making and would put aside his pride as a clarinettist and relied solely on his performance skills. That’s going to be my aim for this week…

Our latest blog posts:
On the origins of Bow Down
Meet the Cast of Bow Down

Find out more about Bow Down
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Rehana Browne: is currently a Leverholme scholar at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Michael Cox and Lisa Beznosiuk. Orchestral experience includes the London Sinfonietta and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Rehana is a member of Azalea (on Gabriel Prokofiev’s label, nonclassical). World premiere performances include Kommilitonen by Sir Peter Maxwell Davis and she has released two recordings of work by Tansy Davies.

Simon Kent: graduated from the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in 2010. Professional roles include: Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility, Lysander in A Midsummer Nights Dream (International tour) Squirrel Samuel/Rupert in Wind in The Willows, Peter/Gregory in Romeo and Juliet (Covent Garden) Adam in The Student (Edinburgh Fringe) Jason in The Sitcom Mission (The New Diorama Theatre).

Benjamin Mahns-Mardy: is a graduate of Trinity Laban conservatoire of Music and Dance. Credits include: Lillias Pastia, Carmen, (Yvonne-Arnaud Theatre, Impact Opera); Eva Braun, Hitler! The Musical (TL Musical Theatre’s sell-out run, Edinburgh Festival 2011); Gareth, Girlfriends, Albany Theatre ; Derek, How To Keep Your Man (devised) directed by Martin Constantine.

Yolanda Mercy: has trained at The Brit School and recently graduated from Laban; she is currently an associate artist at The Oval House Theatre. Some of her credits include: Street Scene (Young Vic), Aladdin (Lyric Hammersmith), Trisha Brown: Rainforest/Newark/Drift (Southbank Centre) and Frauke Requardt’s: In the Neighbourhood (Denmark tour).

Thomas O’Connell: originally from Birmingham, Thomas graduated from Arts Educational Schools this year. Theatre since graduating includes Unnatural Selection, Edinburgh Fringe 2011(Scottish Daily Mail Award- Runner Up 2011), Yours Or Mine? (Lyric Hammersmith) and The Littlest Quirky (Stratford Circus and Theatre Royal Bath).

Mana Shibata: is a Japanese oboist and has lived in England since 2001. She has studied at Chetham’s School of Music, Royal Academy of Music and then at Guildhall School of Music & Drama, generously supported by the Leverhulme Trust. She is also a recipient of a Craxton Memorial Trust Award.

Anita-Joy Uwajeh: is a recent graduate in Ancient History and Archaeology from the University of Birmingham. She is currently a member of Southwark Playhouse Young Company and is set to start a production with them in April. Bow Down will be the first major production. Anita-Joy is set to enrol on a MA Acting programme in September 2012.

The London Sinfonietta has been involved in the development of the project through mentoring the young performers.

Our latest blog posts:
On the origins of Bow Down
Mana Shibata: On meeting Sir Harrison Birtwistle…

Find out more about Bow Down
Book tickets
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Check out our YouTube channel