Dead Cat Bounce
A collaborative performance work by Somerset House Studios resident Gary Zhexi Zhang and Waste Paper Opera (Klara Kofen and James Oldham), telling tales of time, money and the unmaking of reality in the wake of catastrophe.
Archived Event
| Dates | Thu 14 Jul |
| Times | Doors 19.30 |
| Space | Lancaster Rooms New Wing |
| Price | £12 / £8 concessions |
The piece unfolds over five vignettes, blurring the lines between capitalism and ritual, finance and nature, belief and manifestation.
In China, five hitmen arrive in court to discover that they have each subcontracted another to kill the same real estate developer.
In Geneva, thirty virgins are having their teeth checked in order to secure the mounting debts of Louis XVI.
In Miami, an insurance broker drafts a contract for apartments already halfway underwater.
In Jerusalem, the prophet Jeremiah is weeping, again.
In earthquake-struck Edo, workers pay tribute to the namazu, the catfish deity, as they survey the sunlit ruins of the city.
The original score merges the Baroque music of Niccolò Jommelli and Johann Sebastian Bach with mimetic improvisation, choral rounds, synthpop and the textures of public speaking. Dead Cat Bounce takes the form of an oratorio, a medium of vocal performance used to deliver a sacred narrative.
About the artists
Performers
Gabriella Liandu - Mezzo-soprano
Meili Li – Countertenor
Geoff Clapham – Baritone
Aaron Diaz - Trumpet, Sousaphone
Louis D’Heurdieres - Synths, Electronics, guitar
Sarah Farmer – Violin
Chihiro Ono – Viola
Choir - Waste Paper Opera chorus
Dead Cat Bounce was commissioned by Arts Catalyst, with support from Medialab-Matadero. Its development was supported by Wysing Arts Centre and London Performance Studio .