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Laurie Lee in Words and Music
Red Sky at Sunrise follows Laurie Lee through his much-loved trilogy, Cider with Rosie, As I Walked
Out One Midsummer Morning, and A Moment of
War, when Lee famously walked out of the Slad
valley one midsummer morning, and ended up
fighting with the International Brigades against
Franco’s forces in the Spanish Civil War.
Two of our best-loved actors, Anton Lesser and
Charlie Hamblett play the role of Laurie Lee
older and younger, along with a rich array of
other characters. Together, they celebrate Lee’s
engaging humour, as well as his darker side, in a
performance that has startling resonance with
modern events.
Devised as a show by Judy Reaves, the text by
Laurie Lee has been adapted by Deirdre Shields.
David Le Page has devised a gorgeous musical
programme performed by Orchestra of the
Swan, that weaves around Lee’s writing, via the
music of Vaughan Williams, Walton, Holst, Elgar,
Britten, Grainger, Albéniz, Turina and De Falla.
Featuring guitarist Mark Ashford performing
Asturias, Sevilla and Spanish Romance.
“Red Sky is a triumph, its understated theatricality allowing this musically accompanied autobiography to truly resonate.”
Isabel Raper, Ox in a Box
“The music had me vacillating wildly between happy thumpy heart and salty-teared chin-wobble.”
Gill Sutherland, Stratford Herald
“The fusion of the spoken word with the musical arrangements worked to perfection and the credit has to go to Le Page and Shields for their skilful blending of word and music to provide Judy Reaves with such a dramatically satisfying production.”
Paul Clark, British Theatre Guide Review
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