pygmalion
Photo credits: Noel Shelley, 2019
Pygmalion is a choreographic and musical performance piece which combines lute song, voice and contemporary dance.
Inspired by Ancient Greek mythology and Ovid’s
Metamorphoses, Pygmalion is a queer reinterpretation of the story of a sculptor who falls in love with the fruits of his labour. In my re-telling of the story, Pygmalion ends up creating not one, but two statues: a 'masculine' and a 'feminine' one.
When the two statues are blessed (or cursed?) from the Gods with beating hearts, Pygmalion thinks he can finally fulfill his love for them. But how will he choose between the two?
The work was first shown as a 'work in progress' at Espacio Gallery, London, as part of the exhibition Raw Perspectives in December 2019.
After months of development, it was selected to be part of FELIX! Urban Festival in Cologne, Germany, where it premièred in August 2020 in a completely new format.
Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and new regulations, the piece was transformed into a fully socially distant performance, where all performers (including singer and lutenist) keep a safe distance from each other at all times on and off stage.
Rather than seeing these new regulations as an obstacle, myself and the company found inspiration and meaning in the space created between us, and used it as a way to integrate the performance with what is currently happening in the world around us.
Are you an arts, dance or music venue and interested in booking the show? Contact us
Click here to see a short trailer
Creative Team
Giacomo Pini- Original Concept, Choreographer, Performer
Daniel Thomson- Musical director, Tenor
Livia Massarelli- Performer, Assistant Choreographer
Toby Carr- Lutenist
Callum Holt- Producer and Dramaturg