Theatre Ad Infinitum to Present LIGHT in January

Theatre Ad Infinitum presents: Light, a wordless sci-fi thriller performed in darkness and accompanied by a pulsating soundtrack, an Edinburgh Fringe sell-out show from the consistently inventive Theatre Ad Infinitum, Directed and written by George Mann at The Pit, Barbican Centre as part of London International Mime Festival and UK Tour.

PRESS NIGHT: Tuesday 20th January, The Pit, Barbican Centre, 7.45pm

Following sell-out shows at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe Light embarks on a UK tour, beginning with performances at the Barbican as part of the London International Mime Festival. Inspired by Edward Snowden's revelations, Theatre Ad Infinitum conjures an Orwellian future where a totalitarian regime monitors the thoughts of its citizens through implants.

Charged with hunting down 'terrorists' who seek illegal disconnection, a young government agent encounters an enigmatic figure from his shadowy past.This nightmarish tale of love, betrayal and technological power blends anime-style storytelling and a pulsating soundscape by composer Chris Bartholomew to draw audiences into a sci-fi realm, entirely illuminated by LED strip and torchlight.

Created by the company behind Translunar Paradise and Ballad of the Burning Star, which both toured extensively to critical acclaim, Light is yet another original production from a company whose work shifts in style as they explore each new subject. Director George Mann was recently announced as the recipient of a 2015 Quercus Award, conceived by the National Theatre Studio to enable promising directors to make the transition from directing in fringe and smaller venues to working on main stages around the UK. Starting in 2015, George will work with Tom Morris as Associate Director at Bristol Old Vic, while continuing as Co-Artistic Director of Theatre Ad Infinitum alongside Nir Paldi.

Light was created with Deaf actor Matty Gurney, who performed in the show during its Edinburgh run and reprises his role for the tour. Matty regularly appears on the BBC's See Hear and appeared in BSL soap opera Switched. The company began collaborating with Matty after a research and development session where they discovered complimentary approaches to physical storytelling, George through gesture and mime gleaned from Lecoq training, and Matty through British Sign Language and Visual Vernacular. Visual Vernacular is a form of physical theatre using movement and facial expressions developed by Deaf artists for Deaf and Hearing audiences. Following performances at the Edinburgh Fringe, the production was nominated for a Total Theatre Award in the Physical Theatre category.

Composer Chris Bartholomew has drawn on epic works, both contemporary and classical, to create a film-like score, cued live in collaboration with George Mann who performs the live vocals in real time during the performance. Lighting effects have been created by the company in consultation with Matthew Leventhall.

Director George Mann said "I'm excited to be revisiting light after a successful Edinburgh. As a company, we're consistently fine tuning and developing our repertoire - it's part of the way we work; it means we can be responsive to feedback from audiences and it keeps the theatre we make alive. Light is definitely one of the most technically ambitious and challenging productions we've made to date, so I'm thrilled that we've recently been awarded Arts Council England support for two weeks of additional development time. I'm now looking forward to getting back in the rehearsal room with the company in January 2015 and getting Light ready for its London Premiere and UK tour."

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