THE GIRL BEHIND THE GLASS
Written in 2018, The Girl Behind the Glass is a music theatre work for two actor-singers, cello and electronics. The work explores sexual assault recovery and explores the relationship between internal and societal shame in the aftermath of trauma. The work was performed in 2018 in partnership with the Rape and Sexual Violence Project, funded by the PRS Women Make Music Scheme.
FULL PIECE (2018)
EXTRACTS
CONCEPT
The Girl Behind the Glass explores recovery in the wake of trauma and sexual abuse, from denial and self-hatred through to the early stages of acceptance. The two singer-actors (A and B) both represent a part of the same person, allowing an insight into an internal dialogue that charts the inevitable frustrations and difficulties of acknowledging a traumatic event. This relationship is explored through a mosaic-like composition approach, in which scenes are juxtaposed and contrasted with the cello and short tracks that are variants of the song ‘The Girl Behind the Glass' which is heard in full at the conclusion of the work.
The 2018 production was developed in collaboration with the creative team, creating a staging of the work that communicated the shifting dynamic between A, B and the cello. This process was also supported by one of the partners of the project, Friction Arts.
CREDITS
Composer/Director - Chloe Knibbs
Singer-Actor - Abigail Kelly
Singer-Actor - Suzie Purkis
Cello - Flora McNicoll
Sound Engineer - Rebel Elements, Sam Hobbs
Documentation - Trapeze Film
Partners - Rape and Sexual Violence Project
Partners - Friction Arts