Jeremy Peyton Jones
Taking as its starting point the final moments of the Second World War in Berlin, The Zero Hour follows the stories of three couples living through three very different versions of the same historical events. In one version two Russian soldiers celebrate their survival amid the ruins of Berlin as, at the same time they prepare to say goodbye. In another, a British intelligence officer visits a Germany, allied with Britain, which has almost won the war against the Soviet Union, and where the Red army may have discovered a way to send messages through time. In a third a triumphant Soviet Union has occupied all of Europe except for Great Britain with whom an uneasy truce is maintained. Across these different histories the protagonists’ lives connect or fail to connect in ways which echo and resonate and gradually build a picture of human stoicism in the face of the wave of history. The Zero Hour asks difficult questions about how we understand ourselves in relation to the times and the universe in which we find ourselves. It is work which is overtly philosophical and we hope humane. It is also unapologetically romantic and shot through with the obsessions (sex, babies, death WW2 and time travel) which are the hall marks of ITD’s narrative inventions.
Based on the author’s real-life experience in 1918, A Farewell to Arms tells the story of Frederic Henry, an American ambulance driver for the Italian army and his relationship with British nurse Catherine Barkley. Against the backdrop of the war the two protagonists discover the redemptive power of love and experience the loss of innocence as they attempt to cement their relationship in a time of devastating conflict. In this first UK stage adaptation of one of the classic novels of the twentieth century, imitating the dog fuse video projection, beautiful stage design and original music to create an extraordinary adaptation of Hemingway’s powerful meditation on love and the brutality of modern warfare.
The Zero Hour
UK tour 2013
Restaged in Batumi, Georgia as part of a British Council project 2015
Written and directed by Andrew Quick and Pete Brooks with the company
Video design by Simon Wainwright
Soundtrack by Jeremy Peyton Jones
Animation production by Adam Gregory
Video programming Simon Wainwright and Andrew Crofts
Performers
Morven Macbeth
Anna Wilson-Hall
Laura Atherton
Adam Nash
Graeme Rose
Matt Pendergast
Nicholas Cass-Beggs
Song Chang
Wei Da Chen
Jinyu Zhou
“multiplatform theatre-makers of rare ambition and invention” The Guardian
“…utterly engaging, challenging and compelling piece of contemporary performance.” Total Theatre
“It was imaginative, slickly performed, and important. I found it beautiful and compelling; particularly in terms of its form and staging. The symmetry of the composition and the muted use of colour were striking, as was the way in which the juxtaposition of live and recorded performance mediums called the role of theatre into question. In fact, I would highly recommend it as essential viewing for anyone sure or unsure of the role of live performance in an increasingly technological world.” culturevultures.co.uk
A Farewell to Arms from imitating the dog on Vimeo.
Adapted and Directed by Andrew Quick and Pete Brooks
Projection and Video Designs by Simon Wainwright
Stage Design by Laura Hopkins
Lighting Design by Andrew Crofts
Music by Jeremy Peyton Jones
Sound Design by Steven Jackson
Technicians – Andrew Crofts, Ian Ryan and Rory Howson
Stage Manager – Denise Body
Producer – Henrietta Duckworth
Cast:
Laura Atherton – Catherine Barkley
Joshua Johnson –The Priest and ensemble
Morven Macbeth – Helen Ferguson and ensemble
Jude Monk McGowan – Frederic Henry
Matt Prendergast – Rinaldi and ensemble
Marco Rossi –The Major and ensemble
A Farewell to Arms
By Ernest Hemingway
An adaptation by imitating the dog theatre company
UK/Italy tour autumn 2014
★★★★ The Guardian
★★★★ The Stage
★★★★ The Public Reviews