Southbank Centre and the Young Vic are coming together for the first time to work on an exciting new project based on S.T. Coleridge’s classic poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Since then at an uncertain hour,
That agony returns;
And till my ghastly tale is told,
This heart within me burns.
One night at a wedding, the Mariner recounts his experiences of a long and dangerous sea voyage to a guest. His ship is caught in a fierce storm and blown off course to Antarctica. Here they come across an albatross that leads them to safety, but the Mariner shoots and kills the bird. Thereafter, the Mariner is cursed and a ghost-ship, spirits and sea monsters come to torment him…
Working with a creative team, which includes Southbank Centre Artists in Residence Bellowhead, the site-specific piece will incorporate professional musicians and actors with young people from four Lambeth and Southwark primary schools and one special needs primary school. 150 children from year 5 (ages 9 and 10) will be part of the performance itself. Other children will contribute to the project in different ways, making musical instruments and creating podcasts for this blog.
Artists and children will be blogging and podcasting their experiences. Follow the making of the show, and their creative journey here.
Filed under: Ancient Mariner
