Doctor Dee – Damon Albarn & Rufus Norris
Manchester International Festival, ENO and London 2012 Festival present Doctor Dee, a new work composed by Damon Albarn and directed by Rufus Norris.
Doctor Dee explores ritual and symbolism in this country, past and present, using John Dee – one of England’s greatest but largely forgotten men – as catalyst.
‘John Dee was an inspired and inspiring individual who heeded no boundaries in his pursuit of knowledge,’ says director Rufus Norris. ‘The show in part explores the nature of inspiration and how this plays out between 16th and 21st Century England, under Elizabeth I and II respectively. Doctor Dee is a meeting point between then and now, which is made manifest in the music.’
In the age before science and magic parted company, Doctor John Dee was the ultimate Renaissance Man: astrologer, alchemist, mathematician and spy, he coined the term ‘British Empire’ and equipped the Elizabethan Court with the knowledge to make it manifest. The inspiration for both Marlowe’s Faust and Shakespeare’s Prospero, Dee studied the Heavens, he spoke with Archangels, and he paid a bitter personal price.
Rufus Norris is a theatre and opera director whose West End and Broadway shows include Cabaret, Festen, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Vernon God Little and for ENO, Don Giovanni.
Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz, Africa Exprez) has established a relationship with Manchester International Festival, with Gorillaz: Demon Days Live in 2005; composing the sell out show Monkey: Journey to the West for MIF07 and writing the music for Kronos Quartet featured in It Felt Like a Kiss in 2009. Damon Albarn will also be performing in Doctor Dee.
DOCTOR DEE
PALACE THEATRE OXFORD STREET MANCHESTER M1 6FT
July Fri 1 / Sat 2 / Tue 5 / Wed 6 / Thu 7 / Fri 8 / Sat 9 at 20:00
Sun 3 at 16:00
Tickets £16 – £45 (no per ticket booking fee; transaction charge applies)
Concessions available
Box Office: www.mif.co.uk / Ticketmaster +44 844 847 2275
