William Walton | Façade

Erik Satie | Cabaret songs & Trois morceaux en forme de Poire

Kurt Weill | Extracts from Operas

new music from Emily Abdy & Olivia Murphy

Part 1  |  The temptation of nationalism

In a nation proud of its history and identity, where family counts and gets you places, strong characters sell seductive messages. When blaming the ‘other’ for any problems or disquiet, solutions involving violent revenge solutions become alarmingly appealing, encouraging us to abandon what we know and flock to the glittering temptation of nationalism

Part 2  |  Deceptions

But all is not necessarily as it seems in this promised land, where many have concealed, nefarious motives. We are in the criminal world of Bertold Brecht where the double-crossing exploits of Mackie Messer can be glorified by a duped pubic in adulation. The root causes of a general populace so surprisingly willing to be led down these dangerous paths stem from a naivety – whether genuine, affected or on some level willing – which soon turns to despair as the illusion begins to crack.

Part 3  |  Descent into farce

Accepting the bleak landscape we now find ourselves in can be hard; embracing the farce that the situation has become is much easier! We are in the absurdist world of Satie where nothing is really what it seems and where the nefarious characters can only be rationalised as comical. Faced with this, we try to keep up a nonsensical attempt of normality while all the while those at the top are the ones really laughing.