Pas de Cinq by Kagel

Subtitled Wandelszene by Mauricio Kagel

Both the title and its subtitle contain puns that provide the basic idea: Pas de Cinq - on one hand ,’steps for five’, on the other, dubious implications for classical ballet; Wandelszene - a scene that changes at the same time as it is being walked and allowing wide-ranging changes of mood, from the hilarious to the ominous.

Founded in the autumn of 1981, Northern Music Theatre is a group of musicians dedicated to the performance of music which explores the possibilities of visual composition, works which are certainly not 'operatic' or fully theatrical, and yet which develop the dramatic potential of language and sound.

Music-theatre posseses most of the vocabulary of theatre eg. the use of space, lighting and visual design, together with movement and text, but departs from our normal understanding of theatre in that it is not constrained by the confines of dramatic narrative.

The group, which can extend to up to fifty players, presents specially-commissioned work, (for which it undertakes production of all performance material) alongside European repertoire, rarely seen in this country.

Vic Hoyland is a primary force behind the group and is responsible for artistic policy and overall production, along with Andrew Coggins and David Sawer. Musical director is Graham Treacher, who has been involved with contemporary music since the early 1960's: he founded the London New Music Singers, and is a member of the Amati Ensemble.

NMT aims to establish music-theatre as a viable, challenging and virile performance medium.