Brunel meets Dante in this spellbinding spectacle
A remarkable piece of work
Zenobia, a city of joy. Beersheba, a celestial city of gold. Isadora, a city of promise, seduction and desire. City by unseen city, the young explorer conjures from the ether a vast and spectacular empire – all for the benefit of its emperor, his master, who may never get to see it for himself…
Leo Warner, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Lolita Chakrabarti, 59, and Rambert bring to life a series of fantastical places in this world-premiere production. Centred on the edgy relationship between Kublai Khan, the volatile head of a vast empire, and explorer Marco Polo, who must transcend a language barrier to describe it for him, this spellbinding mix of theatre, choreography, music, architectural design and projection mapping imagines a succession of alternative worlds – and reimagines what is possible in live performance.
A phantasmagorical production of Italo Calvino’s fantastical travelogue is an inspired international festival project… Set in a huge disused and near derelict rail station, Invisible Cities becomes less a play, more a staged sculpture… quietly profound
In a feat of production design, the stage – around which the audience, like compass points, is divided into four distinct phalanxes – morphs from throne room to temple, encampment to shopping mall, and even to a Venetian canal, complete with water, gondola and bridge.
Invisible Cities is a mesh of contemporary dance, projections, spectacular staging and a thumping score set within the imposing Mayfield building. This Manchester International Festival world premiere is a mesmerising production, an intercontinental adventure for the Game of Thrones generation
Invisible Cities is an interrogation of humanity through the medium of cities." That is a conversation pertinent across the globe, certainly not least in fast-changing Manchester.
Those behind the production have managed to create something that cannot be defined by genre… a flawless and immersive piece of theatre
The setting, rusted and crumbling, but sturdy, is magnificent.
Director
Leo Warner
Co-Director & Choreographer
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
Adaptor
Lolita Chakrabarti
Concept & Design
59
Dance
Rambert
CAST
Kublai Khan
Danny Sapani
Marco Polo
Matthew Leonhart
Composers
Dustin O’Halloran & Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie of
A Winged Victory for the Sullen
Stage Designer
Jenny Melville
Video Designer
Nicol Scott
Costume Designer
Laura Hopkins
Lighting Designer
Fabiana Piccioli
Sound Designer
Gareth Fry
Casting Director
Sam Jones CDG
Creative Advisor
Benoit Swan Pouffer
Assistant Director
Rebecca Hanbury
Produced by
Manchester International Festival, 59, Rambert and Karl Sydow.
Commissioned by
Manchester International Festival, Brisbane Festival, Hong Kong New Vision Arts Festival, Sadler’s Wells, SMG Live, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Cultural Centre (JACC) and Karl Sydow.
Director
Leo Warner
Executive Producer
Anna Jameson
Stage Designer
Jenny Melville
Video Designer
Nicol Scott
Associate Stage Designer
Claudia Fragoso
Assistant Video Designers
Hanna Schrage
Matthew Taylor
Studio Coordinator
Kate Stanley
Animators
Jamie McComb
Tom Munday
Jarek Radecki
Edd Stockton
Lawrence Watson
Press
Jenn Reynolds PR
Behind the Scenes DOP & Editor
Jessie Rodger