Persephone; a Kinetic Concert

I'm Lia Ikkos, a theatre maker and producer who has been working with Persephone since 2012, staging performances of the myth in miniature form from The Royal Academy of Art (The Other Paradise, 2017) to Sofia Underground Festival (2016) . I'm the winner of the Equity Charitable Trust's 2016 John Fernald Emerging Director Award, and a 2016 Sky Arts Runner-Up in the producer category. I am now inviting Director, Composer, and Ensemble Leader Anna-Helena McLean, expert in the theatre techniques I want London to experience, to create the Kinetic Choir. 

"There is a way to bring something sacred back to our art, even in city spaces, I'm redeveloping our 'natural environment’ through my practice, toward an ecstatic form of contemporary theatre".  -Anna-Helena McLean 

 "Soars in glorious aural technicolour" The Herald

"Totally absorbing to watch and marvelous to hear" Broadway Baby

"Moon Fool is an international company with passion and talent that has fused together a unique theatrical practice that is proven ground-breaking and world class". Dexter Bullard, Head of Graduate Acting at The Theatre School at DePaul University

"Anna-Helena’s training is stunning and unique, and it makes a profound contribution to the Grotowski-based and Polish theatre training lineages..." Artistic Director, Walkabout Theatre, Chicago

"… a passion and depth that is rarely, if ever, uncovered in a full production of the Dream" The Stage

"… re-configuring of Shakespeare plays like jazz variations, beautifully orchestrated" The Observer

“McLean clearly is interested in immersive theatre in the most involved sense of that word: art that one experiences in direct confrontation with the performer... she is really on to something quite profound” Chicago Tribune 

We're founding an independent space at The Old Truman Brewery in which to create truly unique works that offer deeper audience experiences. As well as hosting other companies' shows and growing a diverse audience, we offer a training in Actor - Chorus - Text methodology, creating an ensemble of polyphonic synchronicity, physical self awareness via relationship with the other, presented within immersive experiences.  

WHY IS THIS PRODUCTION SO IMPORTANT TO THE TEAM?

George Bellamy: "A - C - T is a training that creates immersive theatre that audiences can really feel connected to. It gets under your skin."

Laila Mnii: "A - C - T training has allowed me to connect two things I thought couldn't be combined; spirituality and modern story telling. I think it's much needed nowadays."

Giampiero Sanna: "Doing this work I find myself caught up in the appreciation of life, like having an out of body experience, seeing beauty come from exciting and painful process. The potential of this art form has supported me in loving myself and seeking the truth. It can spread the hope we all need in this critical time."

Alice Motta: "Working in the field of tragedy allows us to get in touch with the grass roots of suppressed sorrow. As we play the audience too can penetrate the shades of themselves." 

Andrea Foa: "With this training we learn to become music ourselves!" 

Alana Bloom: "A - C - T is inspiring, engaging and provoking, it has ignited a fire in our bellies."

Florence Brady: "This is an exciting oportunity to explore myths in response to the modern world, founding a new theatre making space in London."

Oscar Zito: "This training environment allows me to grow and develop as an actor as well as in myself, in relationship to others. Further work on this project will lead us to fruition, making something to be felt by the audience."

All of the funding we recieve will go into paying our artists for a two week intensive rehearsal period. 

During this time Anna-Helena will direct the ensemble in learning the music for the performance.

This will become a concert, embellished with choreographed ritual on September 19th. 

Working with fashion designer, Rhys Ellis, this is a showcase of costume and music, to be staged at The Old Truman Brewery on September 19th. 

We're working in partnership with sponsors Crystal Head Vodka, to dive deeper into the underworld offering audiences the taste of Aurora elixir.

 Also, our partners Diazoma in Athens are curating the performance at ancient sites in Greece, in 2018. 

 Join us and be a part of this beautiful space.

Training recommences in October 2017. Email [email protected] to apply to the course.

With your support we will make stunning performances that are uplifting and life giving for our audiences.   

We're taking our audience into the underworld, where the current of life itself glistens in the dark. London is the place of diversity, of art, of burden and freedom. We're creating an ecstatic company to carry the voice of our city across to be witnessed and heard from the ground up. 

Our SUPPORTERS will be able: 

To join us in the underworld and explore your own dark side in splendor. 

To buy at discount rates on a range of great offers:

EVENT SPACE,

STUDIO SPACE,

REHEARSAL SPACE,

DINING EXPERIENCES,

LIVE PERFORMANCES + MORE 

To buy into the company, set to grow both in London and internationally.

Every donation will make a huge difference. We thank all of you out there willing to lend us a hand, and we take our gratitude into the practice space to repay what generous offerings come our way with our most honest creativity. 

 We're already in motion. If the campaign fails the music will be delivered as a duo by Lia and Anna-Helena on September 19th for the Rhys Ellis exhibition. We will continue rocking the A-C-T workshops, and building the show with the ensemble from October 2017, and continue our residencies with The Old Truman Brewery and Diazoma.

Any funding we get that exceeds the target will go towards continued rehearsal time and enhancing the A - C - T workshops, to make them more accessible and open to participants. 

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