Even if you’re not crazy about classical music, you can surely still get excited about Peter & the Wolf.
So, we’re pleased to tell you about a new performance of Prokofiev’s perennial favourite at the Southbank Centre this Easter.
Following in the footsteps of David Bowie, Sean Connery and Jarvis Cocker as narrator, this production is led by Mackenzie Crook, who you’ll know from The Office or Pirates of the Caribbean on screen, or from Jerusalem if you’re a theatre fan.
Crook will introduce the orchestra’s instruments and the characters they represent in the story. (If you can’t remember, the oboe’s the duck, the clarinet’s a fat cat, and the flute’s a broken-winged bird… and so on…)
Alongside the music by the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Aurora Orchestra, there’ll be a screening of the British/Polish animated short film version of Peter & the Wolf. The Southbank Centre’s current Artist in Residence, Simon Armitage is also getting in on the act, with some animal poetry, specially commissioned to accompany the film.
Simon Armitage is a big fan of the accompanying animation, saying “The film is as bewitching and beguiling as the music itself. Peter & the Wolf is about what lies on the other side – and who dares to look there.”
If you dare, get looking for tickets soon, as this is likely to be very popular.
Peter & the Wolf Live is at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 on 8 and 9 April, at 4pm and 6pm. Tickets range frorm £14-£50, with some concessions available at 50% discount. Visit www.southbankcentre.co.uk to find out more.
