A group of artists has collaborated to transform poetry into a multidisciplinary performance featuring music and dance with poetry to create an immersive experience.
Seder, part of the Purcell Sessions performance series at the Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, South Bank, combines jazz drumming, contemporary dance, breaking, krump, and poetry to put a modern twist on Adam Kammerling’s poetry collection of the same name.
Adam Kammerling’s Seder is centred on Kinder transport refugee Walter Kammerling and his family.
Kinder transport was a British scheme to rescue Jewish children from Nazi-occupied territories and give them asylum in the UK before World War 2 broke out in 1939.
Seder also draws from stories of Malay and Chinese mixed heritages, persecution of LGBTQ+ bodies, familial trauma, and addiction.
The production has been described as “equal parts joyful and harrowing” as Seder analysis the rituals people have for reimagining their histories and the importance of developing new rituals.
Ted Hodgkinson, Head of Literature & Spoken Word, the Southbank Centre, said:
“We’re incredibly excited to see the ancient ritual of the Seder reimagined by this diverse group of artists in what promises to be an inspiring and moving meditation on survival.
“Driven by the power of the spoken word, Seder embraces a range of performance styles and is part of Purcell Sessions, a series where artists can use the space of the Purcell Room to make brave creative decisions and forge connections across art-forms.”
Seder features the music of Bellatrix and Antosh Wojcik, and the movement of Emma Houston, Saskia Horton, Ffion Campbell-Davies and Si Rawlinson.
The Seder performance will be on Wednesday 20 April.
For more information visit the Southbank Centre website:
https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/literature-poetry/seder