Thank you for coming to this exploration and celebration of the former Commonwealth Institute. Each new work that you will experience in this performance has been devised in direct response to the building itself. During this process a natural narrative thread emerged which forms the journey that you will take. This building was created at the end of a period of austerity; the structure still stands, looking towards a bright future. We are a diverse and large group of artists who have been given the encouragement and opportunity to come together and make new work. And it is new work on which the artist thrives.

We’d like to thank the faith, vision and support of Becca Pelly-Fry and the InTRANSIT Festival team who have facilitated this. This launches the fourth InTRANSIT Festival which is organised by the Arts Team at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Act 1: 10 years of junk mail fly back into the space. Secret gardens grow where light penetrates the dank gloom. Amongst the destruction an exhibitory shrine is maintained in respect for the Queen. Somewhere in the lost passages the building starts to breathe. The building’s last inmate populates the void with his wild fantasies.

Act 2: In the heat of battle the building is awoken. New roads open up drawing people down into a myriad of forgotten rooms. In the powdery wastelands of a ravaged world, love is lost in error as we journey with a fateful hero into hell itself.

New works created for COMMONSOUNDS - Touching the Void

Production and Design Credits