bodycorps Stages THE ANATOMY OF MELANCHOLY, Now thru Oct 25 in Richmond

bodycorps presents "The Anatomy of Melancholy", a new opera drawing links between medical and physical health in an exploration of depression, genetics and renaissance medicine. With Libretto by Finn Beames and music by Benjamin Tassie, the show will play TestBed1, Battersea., today 22nd to 25th October, and as part of the Happy Soul Festival in Richmond on 14th October. Press night is set for tonight 22nd October 8pm.

This original opera, inspired by Robert Burton's 1621 medical text book and performed by eight musicians, six singers and an actor, will take an intimate look at historical and modern-day experiences of depression through song, speech and mobile live-feed video screens. Through the exploration of a young man's experience of depression and his family's responses, the production compares Renaissance theory with contemporary research, using projected images of the performers' bodies to express experiences of depression and draw attention to the links between mental and physical health and showing that there are many creative ways to engage with mental health issues.

The Anatomy of Melancholy is an epic text admired throughout literary history that attempts to give an exhaustive dissection of 'melancholy' in a search for knowledge of its symptoms, causes and cures. By addressing the relationship between physicality and wellbeing, bodycorps aims to encourage the audience to be more honest and open in their discussions of mental health. The show is performed in a space not conventionally associated with opera to create new possibilities for the art form and perhaps make it more accessible and relatable to broader audiences.

The work has been written in collaboration with molecular psychiatrist Professor Jonathan Flint, Head of the Psychiatric Genetics Group at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, and accordingly includes cutting edge research on genetics and depression.

Director and librettist Finn Beames is the second recipient of a Genesis Future Directors Award in 2014 at the Young Vic, as part of which he will direct a production at the theatre (details to be announced later this year). His notable collaborations include the new opera Terrible Lips co-written with Kate Whitley for bodycorps, and a new music theatre work for the London Sinfonietta, Uncle Dima, in collaboration with Gavin Higgins. Finn is a participant on the Aldeburgh Jerwood Opera Writing Programme 2014-15 as a librettist.

Finn Beames said: "A psychiatrist once suggested that bodycorps should make an opera about misery, which prompted me to revisit Robert Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy, a book I'd read as a student. Feeling a straight-up adaptation was inoperable, I decided to amputate what I wanted and add it to my own and other people's ideas about melancholy and depression. The more time I spend with my brain, the more strongly I feel that we have to find new ways to discuss and maintain mental health. Opera speaks (and sings) to the sometimes overwhelming nature of unhappiness, but I hope this show also points its audience to the more hidden, and often overlooked, corners of depression."

Composer Benjamin Tassie has been performed by a number of leading ensembles, including the Britten Sinfonia, Rarescale, the Composers' Ensemble, Lontano, the Cavaleri Quartet, the Lunar Saxophone Quartet, and the Ossian Ensemble. He has worked with Rambert Dance on a number of projects, created a surround-sound music installation for the De La Warr Pavilion, and has had his music programmed by NonClassical. He has written for a number of short films, and has worked as sound-designer on digital and theatrical projects.

The show will be conducted by Tim Murray, who recently conducted the Britten Sinfonia in the critically acclaimed The Importance of Being Earnerst at the Royal Opera House. Other credits include Twice through the Heart (Sadler's Wells), The Crackle, The Doctor's Tale, The Enchanted Pig and The Gentle Giant (Royal Opera), The Sleeper (Welsh National Youth Opera), Hogarth's Stages (Royal College of Music), Babur in London (The Opera Group), Fantastic Mr Fox (Opera Holland Park) and The Silent Twins (Almeida Opera).

bodycorps was founded in 2011 by Artistic Director Finn Beames. The company exists to interrogate theatre and opera's possible contexts and technologies, while remaining true to what they believe is at the core of these media: radical sensory manipulation. They often work in spaces without existing infrastructure, and though keen to take opera out of the opera house, they believe that the typically large production scale of opera is a valuable property. They have previously created pieces with ensembles of up to 40, and scale is always a notable characteristic of their work. The Anatomy of Melancholy's first incarnation was performed at Arch402 in early 2013 and was originally commissioned by bodycorps for public performances during International Brain Awareness Week 2013. This work was supported by the New York-based DANA Foundation through the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies.

Happy Soul is an independent Charity that uses the arts in an innovative way to destigmatise mental health and promote wellbeing. In celebration of 'World Mental Health Day/Week' they will be running an arts festival for black and minority ethnic (BME) communities in South London from 10th-16th October. bodycorps will perform a semi-staged version of the opera as part of the festival with a post- show Q&A.

For more information, visit bodycorps.org or follow on Twitter @bodycorps. Running Time: 75 mins. Suitable for ages 12+.

DETAILS:

Testbed1, 33 Parkgate Road, Battersea, SW11 4NP

22 to 25 Oct, 8pm

£12.50 | www.testbed1.com | 020 7223 7115

Holy Trinity Church Hall, Sheen Road, Richmond TW9 1UP

14 October, 8pm

FREE | www.happysoulfestival.co.uk | info@happysoulfestival.co.uk