Written and devised by Matt Rudkin and Silvia Mercuriali
Directed by David Woods
Video animation Simon Wilkinson
Funded by the Arts Council of England
Supported by The Basement
Form Silvia’s website blurb:
“A seemingly innocent conference lecture from a German scientist soon reveals darker forces at work, as his rapidly evolving ape is kidnapped by a secret elite seeking to create ‘a better world for fewer people!’ Told through physical theatre, delicate puppetry and striking video effects, at the heart of this darkly comic show is a profound and urgent message; that a better understanding of the evolution of human nature is needed to avert the looming catastrophes.
“Simply one of the funniest shows I’ve seen in ages… the show entertains, informs and charms in a way few others can or will.” Matt Ball, Camden People’s Theatre
My participation in the creation of the soundtrack for this show came only at a late stage when already Silvia and Matt have been working on lots of sounds ideas. It was a follow up from our first hilarious and successful encounter when I have worked to the arrangements of the songs they wrote for their animation film Origins of the Routemaster. I joined in to help them find a global structure and feeling, still preserving their already well-developed ideas.
For example, for the infamous tunes for promoting population extermination, the duo have chosen to use the immaculate Anglican Hymn “All things Bright and Beautiful”. I took my old piano, open the case and recorded the tune by hitting the open strings on the tunes, creating with that base sample a horrid electronic transformation of the hymn, that fit perfectly for the evil purposes of the story.
The rest of the compositional work was to invent more themes and tunes to accompany the characters of the story.
I have also designed a small Max 4 Live device to help with the live actions in the show, triggering audio and video clips, faders, and shutters command, with just one button.
The show toured for a while in London and elsewhere.
Here’s a link to a short video about the show.