Photo Flash: Greenwich+Docklands International Festival Closes Out Its Final Weekend

The Greenwich+Docklands International Festival has completed its final weekend of live performance and installation.

This weekend's offerings included 846 Live, a co-production with Theatre Royal Stratford East and the Royal Docks Team in response to the murder of George Floyd. The stories, all unique, span a breadth of themes and emotions from tragic to angry, to frightening and even funny, tackling the subject of injustice and racism head on. 846 Live used music and sound design, (with a live DJ), together with a diverse ensemble cast, to form an arresting outdoor performance of these visceral plays.

RING OUT from Ray Lee takes the form of a series of giant towers which hold suspended bell-like speaker cones. A team of volunteer bell-ringers start to operate the industrial machinery and make the pendulum arms swing higher and higher until each arm soars up over the heads of the audience ringing forth with a peel of electronic tones.

FIRE GARDEN took audiences on a trail through a magically transformed riverside park landscape in Silvertown, a place with many historic connections with fire. In this atmospheric and enchanting experience there are echoes of local stories, whilst trees glow with fire and flowers blossom into life with flames. This immersive experience provided the perfect antidote to a summer of isolation, evoking the warmth and generosity of togetherness and renewal.

LULLABY was a parade of twinkling lights transforming bedtime into a magical, shared moment in this illuminated artwork created by Luke Jerram. Soothing musical refrains will accompany LED-lit bicycles on their twilight journey through the streets. Lullaby is a gift to Plumstead, created in collaboration with Plumstead Make Merry, Rockcliffe Manor Primary School and local residents, delivered at dusk on their doorsteps.

Photo Credit: Doug Southall/Stephen Wright.