Sunday November 11th 7.30 pm - note time

'Never Such Innocence'

A Narrative Recital of Words and Music from the First World War

presented by

Christopher Kent (actor) and Gamal Khamis (piano)

One hundred years after the devastating events of the First World War, actor Christopher Kent and pianist Gamal Khamis look back at the writing and music that emerged from the period, juxtaposing the words of writers such as Wilfred Owen, Edward Thomas, Siegfried Sassoon and Vera Brittain with piano music by composers including Elgar, Ravel, Debussy, Frank Bridge and Ivor Gurney.

In a moving and thought-provoking sequence, they trace a narrative from the early innocence and nostalgia of pre-war life, through initial patriotic optimism, to the growing realisation of what was happening at the front and the deep sadness and loss that followed across Europe. As well as poetry the programme draws on include extracts from letters, diaries and accounts from personal family history.

Never Such Innocence was first performed at St Mary's Perivale in November 2016 as part of the Somme 100 commemorations and has since been seen at theatres, concert venues and festivals around the country, with many events sold out in advance. In the week before this performance we will be in London, Birmingham, Cheshire and Aldeburgh and we return to the West End at Jermyn Street Theatre the following week, on Sunday November 18 th . Christopher and Gamal were featured on BBC Radio's In Tune in May when Katie Derhamdescribed Never Such Innocence as “an incredibly moving performance”.

Excerpts from the performance can be seen on
https://youtu.be/gfIgKLdki-U

 

Admission free with retiring collection. No tickets issued beforehand