Come You Spirits and Damien Ryan, entwine to make magic in Antony and Cleopatra The Secret House of Death.
COMING SOON TO SYDNEY – INFORMATION PREVIEW
Just One Performance on Thursday 29th February 2024, arrive 6.30pm for drinks and canapés, 7.00pm play begins, location is TATLER SYDNEY, 169 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst.
The show finishes at 8.30pm followed by conversation, collaboration and celebration into the evening.
Antony & Cleopatra: The Secret House of Death launches the forthcoming production in a one-off event in Sydney’s notorious TATLER SYDNEY underground venue in Darlinghurst. Immersing audiences in selected seductive scenes, live ritual inspired by the Initiations of Isis and interspersed with live biographical documentary-style presentations. Bringing audiences full magic, ritual and passion and the power of remembrance through historical context.
In a collaboration with award winning director Damien Ryan of Sport for Jove theatre company bringing a lifetime of Shakespearean expertise, storytelling and adaptation to channel the Come you Spirits magic, ritual, gravitas of performance and pulsating Kundalini energy. Says Damien Ryan: “It is a real delight and inspiration spending time with the Cone You Spirits team. It’s mature, rigorous work on Shakespeare’s language and ideas, and rich conversation about really large human things, it’s very inspiring. To be part of this project is a delight.”
Audiences are invited to be an integral part in how this production will move forward: with them as a member of Antony & Cleopatra The Secret House of Death – as either a patron, a sponsor, participating audience or production contributor, we collectively will be able to create the far reaching, powerful spectacle that these historical characters and the magnificent script deserve. At this event we will share our vision for production in Australia, Egypt and beyond. With the search for Cleopatra and Mark Antony’s tomb by Kathleen Martinez at Taposiris Magna in Egypt reaching a crescendo, this production will provide a deep and powerful connection for all involved, when they are finally discovered lying together, hidden since their death in 30BC.
Marking the Leap Year (which Cleopatra herself introduced to us): Thursday 29th February 2024, 6.30pm drinks and canapés, for 7pm start, in TATLER SYDNEY, 169 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst. The show finishes at 8.30pm followed by conversation, collaboration and celebration into the evening.
Take part in Passion, in Magic, in History.
Tickets are $72.00 each. Strictly Limited Capacity. Adults Only.
Who are Come you Spirits?
Come You Spirits is a troupe based in Sydney, touring Australia giving a fresh voice to the greatest stories that have stood the test of time. Internationally celebrated by industry reviewers, academics, parliamentary dignitaries, journalists, young audiences and the young at heart – for creating “Magic” on stage. They already have four productions in their current repertoire: THE TEMPEST, ROMEO & JULIET, MACBETH & A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM.
These 1.5 hour adaptations are fully immersive, with the action taking place around and among the audience with the troupe are activating spectacular spaces – A 100 year old Tall Ship sailing Sydney Harbour, a 100 year old amphitheatre, the boulders of the bushland reserve in Sydney’s East, inside the tunnels and chambers of the Coal Loader in Sydney’s North, an old distillery at The Rocks, the iconic Brunswick Picture House in Brunswick Heads, Marvell Gardens in Central Byron Bay, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, Bondi Pavilion and Beach, the Riverbank of St Albans in regional NSW, Queens Gardens in Townsville, the Willow Globe in Wales, UK and the Dell in Lancashire, UK.
Usually a troupe of four actors (including Ciaràn O’Riordan), this launch event involves just three. The experienced professional actors have worked internationally and across Australia, seasoned in Shakespeare and classical theatre, film and TV. Jo Bloom (The British Shakespeare Company, Australian Shakespeare Company) Charles Mayer (Pop-Up Globe, ANZAC Girls) Sontaan Hopson (Risen, Atomic Kingdom).
The music comes from Majnoon – founded by KhaiKhan (Kayhan Yakarlar), the founder of Radio Istanbul (RIST Istanbul) Advancing with the motto of “music rising from the east”; the mission of the band is to translate the values and the immense culture it inherits from its homeland to contemporary life, and thus “to reach universality from locality. Oriental, ethnic, and spiritual tones are often used in their performances and its deeply transporting.
Says co-founder Jo Bloom: “Shakespeare has included so much ancient wisdom and knowledge of the universe into his writing. Our goal is to share this with audiences as witnesses to the magic and recipients of the energy.”
Fast becoming Australia’s most sustainable theatre company for their policy, practice and programming and applying green theatre models – their shows can run completely off-grid with full light and sound powered by solar-charged batteries. Combined with their physiological sustainability for their people and audiences, they are a company with a difference. They always end every show with a group meditation to recalibrate the performers and the audience. And the healing benefits are tangible.
Says audience member, Lecturer, and Writer for Shakespeare Reloaded Dr Claire Hansen “At the conclusion of the play, spectators are invited to join the cast in a short meditation led by Jo Bloom. This inclusion was thoughtful and a fascinating way to reflect on that moment of liminality in theatre as the play dissolves and the audience must return to their real lives. The meditation asked us to linger in that in-between state and to connect play, place and lived experience in a different way.”
How do you use sound in the shows?
Sound healing has become a popular modality to improve physical and emotional health and well-being. Cultures the world over have used these practices for thousands of years. We have taken the principals of sound healing and worked with the amazing international composer Brandon Read to create a soundscape to take the audience on a journey using music designed to match the specific frequencies of each of the energy centres (chakras). The soundscape is also supported by incorporating large stones to reflect and resonate sound in the space. These are positioned at specific points that hold the principles of sacred geometry and temple building. We have drawn on the practice used in ancient temples (like the ones that are 10,000 years old), were they used giant stones to ensure sound was not just heard, but that it was an experience felt throughout the body.
REVIEWS FOR PAST PRODUCTIONS THE TEMPEST, ROMEO & JULIET, MACBETH & A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM:
“Minimalized cast, delivers maximized SHAKESPEARE. Highly Recommended. Magnificently performed by 4 outstanding actors.” – Sydney Arts Guide
“Come you Spirits will take you to a place just between the human and the ethereal, to demonstrate just how close we are through language and our connection to the natural world. Utterly indistinguishable from magic.” – Theatre Travels
“This is next-level experiential theatre. One of the best theatrical and outdoor adventure experiences you can possibly have in this or any other city.” – City Hub
“⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Shakespeare but not as you know it…The troupe had done the work for us, so all we needed to do was show up. Nourishment for the eyes, ears, nose and tongue and offered a weight off the heart and kinship with your fellow human beings.” – Arts Hub
“An experience that spiritually rejuvenates while also entertaining.”- Sydney Scoop
“The performers are wonderful storytellers, utilising the energy of the audience and environment to provide a connection to language and the powerful soundscape is designed to be a whole-body experience. I found the performances to be spiritual and engaging. I was impressed with the passion and energy of the performances and completely mesmerised by the experience.”- Stage Whispers
“Come You Spirits put the rhythms of Shakespeare’s language in tune with the frequencies of nature and the elements, breathing new life into words and characters with which we have become too familiar. Enthralled by these performers in a production pared back to bare essentials, I found myself finding Shakespeare made new again as if by alchemy.” Professor Laurie Johnson, QLD university, President, Australian and New Zealand Shakespeare Association
“Come You Spirits are a theatre company with a difference. Not only do they offer strong, sharp performances of Shakespeare’s works (in well-paced productions), but they also engage uniquely with the space around them, and offer audiences an experience designed to enhance their connection to nature and wellbeing. They are making innovative steps in ecological or environmental theatre, and their site-specific work is spectacular. They are also generous practitioners who were much valued participants at our recent ‘Ecological Shakespeare in Performance’ conference at James Cook University.” from Dr Claire Hansen, Lecturer in English at the Australian National University
“The moonlight performance was just magic. The costuming and acting were brilliant and the acoustics were extraordinary. The community can be very grateful to have such stunning cultural experiences” – Commendation in NSW Parliament with a Community Recognition Statement by MP Tim James
_ SYDNEY BUSES 311 from EDDY AVENUE, to the Bus Stop outside 169 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst,
just before William Street.
To book tickets go to: comeyouspirits.com
Contact Email: jo@comeyouspirits.com
BH Telephone: 0416 635 880
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/comeyouspirits
__Photo credit: Damien Ryan