R&D with Ellen MacDougall and ENO

I had one of my favourite working weeks ever this week, in a room with various brilliant musicians, a baritone opera singer and Guy Woolf from drag queen troupe DENIM, exploring cabaret songs banned by the Nazis in an R&D for the Gate's Artistic Director Ellen MacDougall.

It was in equal parts hilarious, tragic and mildly intimidating (for me), but by time we did the sharing on the final afternoon I was totally in love with the project. The surprisingly forward-thinking songs forge a connection between today and then, and Seiriol Davies (of How To Win Against History fame) was an incredible lyrcist. It was a pleasure to watch him render the songs in new words that stay true to the spirit of the song.

"Welcome to the cabaret of degenerate music!
Where you can be just who you want to be!

In a groundbreaking collaboration, we are thrilled to present a cabaret of riotous, witty, and shockingly prophetic songs, banned by the Nazis in the 1930s. 

As the Nazis identified difference as something to be afraid of, the Weimar cabaret scene danced on with songs that celebrated it. With artists from Brecht and Weill to Schoenberg, this subversive underground scene was bursting at the seams with brilliant, visionary voices.

No surprise then, that they were censored, exiled, and incarcerated shortly after as 'degenerates'. And their songs have been all but lost since. Until now. 

A co-production by the Gate Theatre and English National Opera."