A NEW PRODUCTION OF THE APOCALYPSE
by Christopher Cooper
The awestruck silence which lasted for several minutes at the end of the performance of The Apocalypse in South Devon showed how much the members of the full audience had been uplifted. For some ninety minutes they had been immersed in a vibrant world of cosmic pictures from the book of the Revelation of St. John. Applause seemed too trivial a thing after such an unforgettable experience.
Three of the performers are among the leading speech artists in Britain: Sarah Kane, Dan Skinner and Duncan Mackintosh. The fourth, the versatile sound artist Andrew Thompson, played a wide array of tuned percussion instruments as well as chanting or singing certain passages. Centre stage was an enormous gong, which conjured up earthquakes as well as other earth-shaking events. (Almost all of the percussion instruments had been made by the gifted anthroposophical blacksmith Manfred Bleffert.) The whole performance had been skilfully directed by Christopher Marcus.
It was a joy to hear speech of such high quality, where the words sailed forth on the breath like golden boats and resonated so harmoniously in our souls. Movement and gesture were kept to a minimum and enhanced the feeling of a slow majestic ritual, where the vivid images of John of Patmos came fully to life. Any feelings of the weirdness or even remoteness of these dramatic pictures dissolved quickly, as I felt as an audience member part of the unfolding of cosmic history, present and future.
Many of those present felt it had been a real privilege to have taken part in such an event. I can heartily recommend this performance to future audiences.