See The Rime of the Ancient Mariner on the stage of the Queen Elizabeth Hall 
(29/01/2010)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s classic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner – a fantastical story of a man’s voyage through nature and his own mind – is brought to life as a ‘people’s opera’ through music, song and narration in this new Southbank Centre production on the stage of the Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of Imagine Children’s Festival (11 February – 1 March 2010).
This new telling of Coleridge’s classic written in 1797–98 features new music by Southbank Centre Artists in Residence Bellowhead who perform live onstage and a 150-strong community choir of children, teenagers and adults, drawn from Charles Dickens, St Augustines RC, Stockwell and Wyvil Primary Schools as well as Kingsdale Foundation School; Southbank Centre and Lambeth Local Authority employees; and members of Southbank Centre’s Pulse (part of Voicelab) choir. Vocal Director is Ciara Burrows and poet and Southbank Centre Artist in Residence, Lemn Sissay is cast as the mariner.
Simple staging by Associate Artist Michael Vale is complemented by digital designs, projections and lighting, which give the production a contemporary feel.
This new stage version of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner has been developed from the 2009 outdoor co-production by Southbank Centre and the Young Vic, which formed part of the London Literature Festival 2009. The aim is that this special production lives on beyond the Imagine festival as a work that can be performed by schools and community groups.
Jude Kelly, Artistic Director of Southbank Centre and Director of this production said: ‘A great old poem, an award-winning modern band, a brilliant poet-narrator and an exuberant community choir is a heady list of ingredients for a director. We are looking forward to telling this wonderful story together.’
The production is based on an original idea by Keith Shadwick and Shân Maclennan, Creative Director of Learning and Participation at Southbank Centre. Shân said: ‘For over two hundred years, Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner has exerted a strange and compelling fascination for generations of children and adults alike. It was one of the first poems written in the everyday language of the day and its gothic tone and supernatural symbolism are as affecting today as the day it was written.
‘We sincerely hope this new telling of the poem, set to Bellowhead’s wonderful new score, will be an inspiration to schools and community groups who we invite to take it and make it their own.’
Bellowhead said: ‘It's a great story which filled our imaginations – a narrative which chimes with the band's interests and style. Working with local young people to create our vision of Coleridge's epic was inspiring and fulfilling, and made us feel not only part of a hugely exciting creative process, but also part of a new artistic community.’
Performances are most suitable for ages 8 and over.
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