New Diorama Theatre presents the world premiere of Container, a multi-vocal performance by Alan Fielden, exploring the violence and tenderness of living through catastrophe. Drawing influence from Laurie Anderson’s music and Robert Ashley’s television operas, Container makes use of overlapping choral narratives, live music and polyphonic sound to explore alternative treatments of text, voice, and storytelling. Part concert, part poetry reading, like Philip Glass’ Einstein on the Beach for the Digital Age.
In a time of climate catastrophe and displacement, violent conflict, and mounting crises, Container opens up a space to experience a more empathetic view of humanity and reasserts the dignity and ambitions of the migrant figure; filled with love, horror, hope, overwhelm, joy, loss, resilience and rage. A cascade of images and characters, windows into the lives of others.
Container is brought to the stage by an ensemble of award-winning artists from some of the most exciting contemporary performance collectives – written and directed by Alan Fielden (JAMS), performed with Ben Kulvichit & Clara Potter-Sweet (Emergency Chorus), Jemima Yong (JAMS), with musical direction from Tim Cape (Bastard Assignments).
Speaking about the production, Alan Fielden says “I’m going about my day, I scroll my phone, and in my hand I see a missile destroy an apartment block in a distant city. I see someone rushing their relative to hospital. I see a person talking through their experience of torture. I wonder what I can do with this grief and horror. If it can be channelled toward anything of use. It feels thorny and complex to acknowledge this violence in my work, here in London. But to not acknowledge feels worse; delusional, unrealistic. Container is about reaching breaking point. Bodies as vessels of emotion. Stories as vessels of what we choose to remember or preserve. Countries as vessels for national myths. What happens when the container can’t bear its contents, when it cracks open, or overflows. For me, making this work has been a challenge, and a way of engaging with the world of 2023/4, with the horror, but also with the resilience, care, and love visible everywhere, just beneath the surface. I feel enormous pride and gratitude toward the incredible team, I wouldn’t feel safe making this kind of vulnerable work without them.”
