Friday 21 – Sunday 23 June 2022 Times: Friday 2pm & 7.45pm, Saturday 2.15pm & 6.40pm, Sunday 1pm & 4pm Greenwich + Docklands International Festival Island Gardens, Saunders Ness Road, Tower Hamlets, London E14
World premiere of The Limbless Knight – A Tale of Rights Reignited directed by Jenny Sealey
Featuring performers from the London 2012 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony
Graeae returns to Greenwich+Docklands International Festival (GDIF www.festival.org) for the fifth year with a brand new show The Limbless Knight – A Tale of Rights Reignited, a production which re-unites the creative team behind The Garden and Against The Tide. This new tale is an immersive piece of theatre where the audience are invited to play extras on a set where nothing is what it seems.
The initial starting point was born out of wanting to adapt The Rite of Spring into the world we currently live in. The Limbless Knight was further developed with ex-servicemen during a two day research and development period. Out of this came the grey stories that need to be told and the desire to create a monument to the living where death will always be present. It is a story of past and present sacrifices.
Films are in black and white or colour. This film is in grey.
Through a fictional film setting The Limbless Knight explores the need to ignite the future at a time when human rights are on the verge of being rewritten. Directed by Jenny Sealey and featuring performers from the London 2012 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony this new aerial and sway pole outdoor production has all the Graeae aesthetics of sign language and audio description embedded within the narrative. Young people from George Green’s School, will be creating performance installations to tie in with the production based on the Rights of a Child.
Directed by Jenny Sealey Design by Sofie Layton Music and Sound Design by Lewis Gibson Aerial Choreographers Tina Carter and Grant Mouldey
Director Jenny Sealey said:
“Post Paralympics the world is a different place. It is not only crucial for us to continue to profile the skills of our performers but it is also time to address the brutal truth of the standing of Deaf and disabled people within the current economic climate. Glimmers of humour and hope shine through the darkness of the subject matter because we accept exactly who we are; we are just waiting for the rest of the world to join us.”
GDIF Artistic Director Bradley Hemmings said:
“GDIF is thrilled to be hosting the premiere of this new outdoor Graeae show, particularly as it will recapture some of that amazing spirit of 2012 and the Paralympics in particular at this year’s Festival. Having been fortunate to have worked with Jenny Sealey as co-director of the Paralympic Opening Ceremony, I’ve seen her extraordinary vision, passion and dedication at first hand, and so it’s a great personal pleasure to welcome Jenny and Graeae back to GDIF with what promises to be an exhilarating and emotional rollercoaster for Festival audiences”
Head of Drama at George Green’s School Claire Gordan said:
“Our students are conscientious individuals and they believe in standing up for the rights of all. The school is in the process of becoming a Rights Respecting School and as such students here have been looking closely at the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has ignited their enthusiasm to ensure that the world becomes a place of equality.”
Graeae presents The Limbless Knight – A Tale of Rights Reignited In association with Strange Fruit