Rhiannon Faith new show Lay Down Your Burdens to premiere at the Barbican

Rhiannon Faith will premiere new show Lay Down Your Burdens at the Barbican this November.

In a collaboration between the Barbican in London and the Harlow Playhouse, Rhiannon Faith Company’s new show Lay Down Your Burdens will run at The Pit, Barbican, from 21 – 25 November 2023.

Renowned choreographer and theatre maker Rhiannon Faith invites you to step into an unconventional evening at the local pub, where the beauty of humanity takes centre stage.

This 90-minute show unfolds within a rundown yet welcoming British pub, presided over by the charismatic landlady Sara. Here, regulars gather each night, sharing their stories and troubles, and enjoying their usual drinks. However, this familiar routine is disrupted when an enigmatic stranger with an overwhelming baggage of their own stumbles in from the cold.

The performance takes place on a thrust stage, enveloping the audience on three sides, making them integral to the experience as pub guests. As you become acquainted with the regulars and their stories, you’re encouraged to engage in the conversations that flow around the bar. Through radical tenderness, humour, and intoxicating behaviour, the show explores our collective need to heal, rediscover what’s been lost, and collectively unburden our souls.

Inspired by Bob Dylan’s Lay Down Your Weary Tune, music plays a pivotal role in the performance. The pub setting features an original score by John Victor, of the London band Ghengahr, performed by a live string section. The audience’s voices are recorded through structured and unstructured tasks and supported testimonials, resulting in a collective weary tune. This tune is then expertly edited live, tailored to each performance and location, and played as the climactic moment of the show.

The world premiere of Lay Down Your Burdens will take place at The Pit, Barbican, from November 21 to November 25, 2023. This exciting and vital new work is performed and devised by a cast of six intergenerational performers and two musicians.

A tour of Lay Down Your Burdens is scheduled to extend nationwide in 2024.

For more information, visit rhiannonfaith.com