BROKEN CHORD
Critical Acclaim for Broken Chord
The Guardian **** ("stirring, sonorous harmonies…a potent performance")
Reviewshub ***** ( ("A series of exceptional theatrical moments combining dance and ridiculously beautiful singing from every participant, it lingers in the mind long after watching")
The New York Times (Preview, interview with Sarah Latto, Thuthuka Sibisi and Gregory Maqoma)
MEDIA
ABOUT THE SHOW
In spring 2023, Echo worked with the South African choreographer Gregory Maqoma on a dance and sung theatrical piece called Broken Chord.
Broken Chord charts the journey of a South African group of singers who travelled by boat to England in the late 19th century in order to collect donations to build a school. Despite the tensions between South Africa and the colonial power Great Britain, the tour became a success. Using both traditional Xhosa and contemporary styles of dance, Maqoma's piece offers a rare insight into how Africans were perceived in Victorian London.
16 Echo singers were an integral part of the performance; accompanying the dance with a cappella music - a score by the composer Thuthuka Sibisi which featured re-interpretations of choruses by Handel and Purcell, to create a unique work about past and present issues including borders, migration and identity.
