A BEAUTIFUL THREAD
THOMAS HARDY
IN WORDS AND MUSIC
ANTON LESSER
with LUCIA BONBRIGHT and ORCHESTRA OF THE SWAN
"I will astonish you all"
A celebration of Thomas Hardy in his own words; poetry, novels, and the music he loved so much.
A Beautiful Thread weaves Hardy’s life – dramatic as any of his books – with his poetry and great novels, including Tess of the d’Urbervilles, and Jude the Obscure.
Starring Anton Lesser (Game of Thrones, Wolf Hall, Endeavour) alongside Lucia Bonbright and Orchestra of the Swan.
The script is written by Deirdre Shields (Red Sky at Sunrise; Laurie Lee in Words and Music, GEORGE Eliot in Words and Music).
Hardy put more music into his work than any other writer, and Orchestra of the Swan’s Artistic Director, David Le Page, has devised a musical programme of shimmering beauty - a Mellstock folk band style, that combines West Gallery Music from the village churches of the 1840’s with Holst, Purcell, and contemporary folk.
Overview of A Beautiful Thread from Writer, Deirdre Shields
"The challenge with Thomas Hardy – monumental novelist, extraordinary poet – was always going to be ‘Where to begin?’. Until it dawned on me that the place to start would be with an ending - Hardy’s own, which is even more Thomas Hardy than a Thomas Hardy novel. That gave us all a way in.
Judy Reaves and David Hamblett have created something truly extraordinary with their imaginative recreation of Words and Music, producing something that is nothing less than a whole new way of performing."
Written by
Deirdre Shields
Directed by
Judy Reaves
Music Devised & Directed by
David Le Page
"An unforgettable, magical evening that I’m sure Thomas Hardy himself would have absolutely loved."
Sabrina Sully, The American
In this production, Deirdre Shields has spun a beautiful thread of her own, linking all aspects of Hardy’s life and work to create something truly magical.
Le Page on the lead violin is as poetic as Hardy's words. It's like a trio between Le Page's violin and Lesser and Bonbright's resonant voices.
Take one of our finest actors, with a voice that can add kudos to the phone directory, Anton Lesser, and add equally haunting vocals from Lucia Bonbright. Score the words of Thomas Hardy with beautiful orchestration by David Le Page and the Orchestra of the Swan, and you have a truly magical evening.
Beautifully directed by Judy Reaves, it very much felt as though the world outside was switched off as we indulged in traditional work, and the power of words, music, and communication was celebrated.
Paul T. Davies, Keep Colchester Cool - Read Full Review
"This odyssey through the life of one of England’s greatest writers was a sheer pleasure from beginning to end, beautifully crafted by actors and musicians whose respect and feeling for the subject was never ever in any doubt."
John Phillpott, Showtime!
