![]() I’m not someone to harp on about how things used to be better, I just think it’s nice to sometimes remember those really simple times.” “I love those little nostalgic things that remind us of a simpler time. That’s a cool link, because that’s what my job used to be in the church, but also something from growing up in Australia in the 80s and 90s. “Jocelyn loved the idea, so they’re full analogue projections from overhead projectors. “It was Jocelyn Tribe who came up with the idea of using these overhead projectors, because before I played music in church, my job was to move the words on the overhead projector – I had to have the next sheet ready for the hymn or contemporary Christian rock song,” he laughs. The trio of dancers are cloaked by video projections reminiscent of James’ childhood. The set design’s been crafted in the clever mind of Jocelyn Tribe, and features choreography by Kino McHugh, who is joined by dancers Ruttiya McElroy and Steph Spillett. Through James’ musical soundscape, the immersive work captures the essence of the witching hour, yet soothes the unrest it may stir. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve spoken to my father about the night, and nightmares, and dreams with him … I realised I wanted to make a show about the comfort I feel from music when I think of those scary spiritual warfare scenes, and so Hymns for the Witching Hour became this comforting soundtrack that I started writing.” My father and I would say these prayers before bedtime, kind of about spiritual warfare about angels and Christ’s blood protecting our house … I imagined this shield going over our house and would lay in bed, and my brain would explode with colours and visions. ![]() “When I was young, I had this really vivid imagination. “I guess, growing up in the church, I definitely had a kind of weird upbringing, talking about lots of things like the angels and devils and God … When I left the church and did my first theatre show, In-Between Two, I kind of shared a bit of my journey in leaving the church,” he says. ![]() ![]() Hymns for the Witching Hour premieres at Brown’s Mart Theatre this month, and draws on James’ Filipino-Australian heritage and former religious beliefs. This idea of the witching hour, and the otherworldly sense it stirs, has inspired the latest work from Darwin based musician and producer James Mangohig, aka Kuya James. It’s in these late but early hours, commonly referred to as the witching hour, the thin veil between life and death can be easily punctured. For many cultures across the globe, particularly in Asia, it’s believed that spirits rise in the dead of the night. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |