In its Tenth Anniversary Year
Total Ensemble Theatre Company
presented
Egmont, a Valiant Stand
An ‘Overture in Action’
Directed and adapted for film by
Rebecca Chapman in workshop with members of the cast of Total Ensemble Theatre Company
Film by Paul Thompson, Jonty Rea and Rebecca Chapman
Commissioned by PBSK (creators of the Autumn Festival of Norfolk and the Norfolk Arts Awards) the experimental and atmospheric film was inspired by Egmont, Op. 84 composed by Ludwig van Beethoven for Goethe’s play, Egmont. Beethoven, a fan of Goethe, sharing his passion for justice and freedom of expression, was coming out of a long period of isolation (apposite, having just emerged from a lock down ourselves) when he was commissioned to write the music.
Total Ensemble Theatre Company explored the musical structure of Beethoven’s composition and the themes of Goethe’s play, namely, activism, the fight for freedom and ultimate sacrifice; one individual’s life for the lives of many others, drawing parallels with contemporary life.
FURTHER INSPIRATION
Themes from Sir Peter Ustinov’s Beethoven’s Tenth, namely, the ghost of Beethoven
Sculpture of Beethoven’s Death Mask – Rachael Long
The Big Barn
PHYSICAL OFFERINGS
The Cast of Egmont, a Valiant Stand
ADDITIONAL MUSICAL OFFERINGS
Chris Ellis
Holly Lerski
Ruby Ashby
LYRICS by Peggy Holden
SUPPORTED BY
PBSK
Chris and Diana Jacob
Geoffrey Watling
Chivers Trust
We have found the strength to join hands
Make a bond, a fellowship
Inside the smallest person
the largest of hearts
There is no life without death,
There is no death without life.
We live as one with everyone …
Alone
excerpt from a poem by
Peggy Holden
Written as part of a series of online workshops held by Total Ensemble Theatre Company during lockdown.
