When a soldier’s camera is unearthed, his grandson searches for meaning through the photographs inside. He discovers a surreal world of childhood and imagination, as fragments of war explode into the present-day in the critically acclaimed production A Strange Wild Song.
After a sell-out run at Edinburgh Fringe, Rhum and Clay mix absurdist humour and an original musical score to tell a touching story about finding light in the darkest of places. A Strange Wild Song premiered at the Bedlam Theatre as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2012. It was devised and written by the Company and now comes Liverpool’s Unity Theatre for one night only on March 19th.
This show, set in a small French village bombed during the Second World War, centres on a group of children and their encounter with an American soldier. The rehearsal process drew on films, case studies and photographs, as well as the company’s exploration of the imagination and openness of children that is often lost in adulthood. In 1915 during the war, Belgian photographer Léon Gimpel befriended a group of children living in the Grenata Street neighbourhood in Paris who had formed their own ‘army.’ He visited them regularly, helping them build their armoury (planes, costumes and cannons) and recorded these meetings with his camera.
Tickets for A Strange Wild Song are priced at £10 with concessions available at £8. Tickets are available to purchase from the Unity Theatre Box office, by telephone on 0844 8732888 or online at www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk
Ian D. Hall