Photo Flash: Sneak Peek of Festival of Chaos' BLOOD WEDDING; Opens Tonight!

Poetry and music combine in a brand new version of Federico García Lorca’s haunting masterpiece, Blood Wedding, by Tommy Murphy (Holding The Man – Sydney Opera House and West End). In a close-knit community in rural Spain, a long-term feud between two warring households simmers under the burning sun. A desperate mother reluctantly agrees to her son’s choice in bride, but on the day of the wedding her worst fears are realised when the bride disappears with a former lover. The flames of the family feud are re-ignited, and the fleeing couple are cornered in the depths of a mysterious forest.

The Bacchae and Blood Wedding are performed in rotation with the same company of actors - Robert Benfield, Liam Bergin, Donna Berlin, Jim Bywater, Philip Cairns, Rosie Ede, Alicia Davies, Seline Hizli, Ery Nzaramba, Kathryn Pogson and Amanda Wilkin.

Both plays are directed by Royal & Derngate’s Artistic Director Laurie Sansom, who was responsible for the award-winning Young America double bill Spring Storm and Beyond the Horizon, which transferred to The National Theatre in London, The Holy Rosenbergs also at the National, The Duchess of Malfi and Eden End at Royal & Derngate and on tour. Associate Director is Neil Bettles (ThickSkin and Frantic Assembly). Both pieces feature original music by Dougal Irvine who is working with Royal & Derngate as part of the Cameron Mackintosh Resident Composer Scheme. Dougal trained at the Royal Court and his first musical, Departure Lounge, won the MTM (Musical Theatre Matters) Award for Best Music for a New Musical and was nominated for Best New Musical in the 2011 WhatsOnStage Awards.

Photo Credit:  Spike Liseiko

Ery Nzaramba and Seline Hizli