<nettime> CLIMATE CHANGE "OPERA" OPENS IN LONDON'S SQUARE MILE

[John Jordan <artactivism@gn.apc.org>]

Sorry for cross posting

This is the opera some of you might have heard that i was working on 
..   thought you might be interested in it. A strange shift from 7 
years ago which was the last time i worked in the square mile and was 
helping to organise an insurrection there (the J18 carnival against 
capitalism) ! but operas and insurrections have some things in common 
i think ???

Please dont listen to it withouth doing the walk ( so if your not in 
London wait till you visit ) - it would be like watching TV with the 
picture switched off !!!

yours  JJXX


NEW OPERA CREATES 'SOUNDTRACK FOR THE ERA OF CLIMATE CHANGE'

Today sees the launch of And While London Burns - a compelling 
collision of thriller, opera and guided walk that dramatically 
explores London's Square Mile and its role in climate change.

 An 'opera for one', it takes the audience equipped with an 
mp3-player on a walking audio adventure through the skyscrapers, 
streets and alleyways of the City.

 This unusual work catapults the climate crisis from the cold realms 
of science and economics into the emotional world of culture.

And While London Burns leads the headphone-wearing participants on a 
mystery tour, experiencing the City through the eyes of a tormented 
financial worker, who encounters Roman ruins, real life City 
characters, bank trading rooms, buried rivers, and relics from the 
Great Fire. The audio tour explores the role of companies including 
BP, Royal Bank of Scotland and Swiss Re in fueling climate change.

Starring recent Olivier Award nominee Douglas Hodge[1], and produced 
by award -winning arts company PLATFORM,[2] the track is downloadable 
for free from http://www.andwhilelondonburns.com and can be 
experienced at any time of the week.

Pre-viewing theatre critic Robert Butler writes [3]: "The journey 
becomes a magical mystery tour, a London walk, a political essay, a 
short story and a requiem"

 James Marriott [4], co-writer, says: "The theme of this opera is not 
fiction, and this is emphasised by it being staged in real space, 
among real characters. This is a soundtrack for the era of climate 
change".

 John Jordan [5], fellow librettist, continued: "We know the numbers, 
graphs, models and terrifying predictions of the climate catastrophe 
that faces us, but until we are truly moved to feel the scale of the 
crisis, then there is little hope that our society will go beyond the 
cataclysmic scenario of business as usual."

 Composer Isa Suarez's [6] stirring score evokes London's fiery past, 
oil drenched present and a dark unknowable future and is performed by 
some of the UK's best contemporary musicians including BBC Jazz award 
winning clarinettist Alan Barnes and acclaimed cellist Robin Michael. 
She describes And While London Burns as a  "requiem for the warming 
world."

 Press Contacts:
 James Marriott: 0207 403 3738
 Greg Muttitt (till Sunday 3rd Dec): 07970 589 611
 Dan Gretton (after Monday 4th Dec): 07749 422 953

A press photograph is available for use in print media

 Notes to editors

1. One of the UK's most versatile actors, Douglas Hodge has recently 
starred in Titus Andronicus for The Globe and the West End run of 
Guys and Dolls.  He has just finished playing Ewan Mc Gregor's lover 
in the hit British film Scenes of a Sexual Nature.

 2. PLATFORM works across disciplines for social and ecological 
justice. It combines the transformatory power of art with the 
tangible goals of campaigning, the rigour of in-depth research with 
the vision to promote alternative futures. 
http://www.platformlondon.org

3. Robert Butler, author and theatre critic,  was drama critic of the 
Independent on Sunday from 1995-2000. His most recent book is 'The 
Art of Darkness - Staging the Philip Pullman Trilogy'  (Oberon 2004). 
The review appears on 
http://www.ashdendirectory.org.uk/featuresView.asp?pageIdentifier=20061130_63053531&view=

 4. James Marriott, Co-Director of PLATFORM, has been researching 
London's oil & gas  sector since 1995. He is the author of 'The Next 
Gulf - London, Washington & the Oil Conflict in Nigeria' (Constable 
2005) and is an AHRC Research Fellow at the Department of Sociology, 
Goldsmiths College, University of London.

  5. Artist activist John Jordan was co-founder of the infamous 
anti-globalisation collective Reclaim the Streets. He is co-editor of 
'We Are Everywhere: The Irresistible Rise of Global 
Anticapitalism'(Verso 2003). He worked on the film "The Take" about 
the economic crisis in Argentina with Naomi Klein and set up the 
Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army in 2003.

 6. Trained classically as a musician, Isa Suarez is a composer, 
sound artist and songwriter working since 1988 on film and TV, 
contemporary art, songs and multimedia productions. She has released 
albums internationally and exhibited at Tate Britain London and 
Whitechapel Art Gallery. She was recently awarded an artist residency 
in Southwark, London and is currently preparing a multimedia piece 
about human rights.   http://www.isasuarez.com 
-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our book - WE ARE EVERYWHERE: THE IRRESISTIBLE RISE OF GLOBAL ANTICAPITALISM
edited by : Notes from Nowhere - published by VERSO and soon in 6 languages.
http://www.weareeverywhere.org

Catastrophic Climate Chaos requires  radical action, not market 
techno fixes and greenwash.
http://climatecamp.org.uk




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