Without Warning – Contemporary Live Theatre based on the work of Brian Keenan
(Last Updated: 30-11-2011)
"How little a person knows what is in himself"
Brian Keenan, An Evil Cradling
Those who heard the Lion Sermon at St Katharine Cree in October 2010 will recall the vivid address given by Brian Keenan and his description of the process by which he wrote An Evil Cradling, the award-winning account of his kidnapping and confinement in Beirut in the 1980s.
Without Warning is a piece of contemporary theatre combining dance and live music inspired by Brian Keenan’s compelling narrative. Following sell-out premiere performances at Laban Theatre in November 2010, Without Warning Company is re-siting the work for two weeks at the Old Vic Tunnels.
Working from images in An Evil Cradling, four dancers and four musicians enter the anguished territory of being relegated to 'meat', and explore how the mind and spirit still finds ways to claw back reality, half-reality and meaning. Strings, percussion, human voices and bodies alike become and orchestra playing out erratic states of euphoria, ridiculousness, compassion and uncertainty. Without Warning brings together light, sound and movement using the space in a unique way.
Accompanying the performance is Darkroom by Peter Anderson, a photographic installation with sound of the Without Warning rehearsal process. A staff photographer for NME in the 1980s, Peter is known for his striking portraits of musical icons including Madonna and Mick Jagger.