Communicado, a touring Company which works in Scotland, is one of Britain’s most innovative and exciting theatre groups. This programme follows the development of one of its projects, a daring theatrical extravaganza by Jock Tamson called Bairns. It sits in on rehearsals and witnesses the grand spectacle of the finished piece.
Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men
This visually stunning and emotionally raw piece of dance theatre was conceived with reference to the notorious Dennis Nilsen’s murders of homeless London teenagers. It is a passionately sympathetic look at loneliness, at the terrible consequences of lust imagined as love and trust turned to vicious sexual torment. Created by Lloyd Newson, Nigel Charnock, Russell Maliphant and Douglas Wright, who perform in this film version, it was specially reworked for the cameras, losing none of its hard-hitting intensity. (Music by Sally Herbert)
Fitzrovia
The Second World War was a particularly active period for British writers and this literary portrait of that era includes an anthology of their poetry and prose. Anthony Powell, Alan Ross and Roy Fuller represent those who saw military action, and interviewees, including Stephen Spender and Peggy Ashcroft, focus on the experiences of the writers who were in London during the Blitz.
Evelyn Glennie in Rio
Evelyn Glennie is a unique phenomenon. She is profoundly deaf and yet is recognised as one of the world’s top percussionists. This programme follows her to Rio de Janeiro in search of new percussion techniques. She learns the samba rhythms and participates in the famous Rio Carnival. Back in the UK, she incorporates the experiences of her trip into her repertoire as she plays two Brazilian pieces, one with the London Symphony Orchestra.
Hans Werner Henze
Leading German composer Hans Werner Henze’s early experiences of Nazism and wartime conscription left him with a passionate belief in music as a means of political resistance and as a healing force. Filmed while on a rare visit to his home town in Westphalia, Henze talks candidly about his youth, the development of his revolutionary aesthetic and his nomadic musical life. He is seen at work on the score for his opera, The Treacherous Sea.
Christopher Hogwood on Haydn
Haydn (1732-1809), the ‘Father of the Symphony’, spent his most creative years as Kapellmeister at the Esterháza Palace in Hungary. Conductor Christopher Hogwood travels to Esterháza with his orchestra, the Academy of Ancient Music, and leading Haydn authority H. C. Robbins Landon, to explore the composer’s life and his music. Musical illustrations recorded at Esterháza raise questions about the authentic style of rendition championed by Hogwood and his musicians.
Barry Humphries
Barry Humphries’ creations, Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson, remain two of comedy’s most popular figures. In this programme, the elusive comedian talks at length about the early influences that led him into his extraordinary career. There is library film of Mrs. Everage’s early television performances in Australia, as well as footage of Dame Edna on stage and, naturally, the antipodean superstar appears in person to comment on her alter ego.
Mark Morris
Morris is a brilliantly creative choreographer whose musicality and almost classical regard for form have led him to be hailed as the successor to the late George Balanchine, the doyen of twentieth-century dance. This programme was made when he was the resident choreographer at La Monnaie in Brussels. It focuses on his highly-acclaimed ballet L’allegro, il penseroso ed il moderato. He is also seen creating a new work in rehearsal, with dancers including Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Frans Hals of Antwerp
Frans Hals (1582-1666) was a portrait painter with a unique style, admired for its originality and vivacity. Very little documentation of his life has been found, so this film uses an extensive montage of his canvases as the key to his story. Works by the landscape artists and still-life painters of the day help create a picture of the age in which he lived, and the programme also explains the elaborate conventions of portraiture at that time.
Fortepiano
In this documentary, which tells something of the history of one of today’s most popular instruments, several acclaimed pianists talk about their choice of piano and discuss the merits of using period keyboards when playing baroque and classical compositions. Lively musical illustrations are included.