Louise Blackwell

25 Years of Clod Ensemble – an invitation

Twenty-five years ago, Clod Ensemble began to rehearse their first-ever production. It was called The Feast During the Plague and it was based on a ‘little tragedy’ by Alexander Pushkin about a group of villagers who attempt (with varying degrees of success) to celebrate life together during a terrible plague.

In planning how to mark our 25th anniversary we did not imagine that we would find ourselves in the midst of a global pandemic. We were about to announce a live programme to celebrate our body of work and the many hundreds of people who have contributed to its creation – including live performances, talks and workshops and an exhibition of images, music and texts from our archive. Plans have changed.

In light of the current circumstances, we have decided to reimagine The Feast During The Plague, to revisit and rethink the ethics of gathering, as we struggle – both individually and collectively – to comprehend illness and contagion, to work out how to connect and care for each other without physical contact, to quiet the urge to congregate, and to navigate the moral complexities of having a good time whilst others are suffering.

We are inviting you to contribute.

Rehearsals start today.