A futuristic re-imagining of the classic Greek myth set in outer space, Icarus at the Edge of Time is based on a stunning book by the world-renowned theoretical physicist and Pulitzer Prize nominee Brian Greene. Featuring a spectacular science fiction film created and directed by AL and AL, with the narrative adapted by Brian Greene and David Henry Hwang, and a brand new score by Philip Glass, this North West première is performed live by the BBC Philharmonic and conducted by RNCM alumnus Duncan Ward. Discover the boy who challenges the awesome power of a black hole and the unyielding forces of Einstein’s theory of general relativity.
Narrated live by Brian Greene, the evening includes an additional companion score for piano, accompanying a screening of the recently restored Le Voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon, 1902). Directed by filmmaking pioneer George Méliès, it is recognised as the first ever science fiction short film.
Commissioned and produced by HOME, the World Science Festival (New York) with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Southbank Centre (London) with the Royal Society, Icarus at the Edge of Time is part of AL and AL’s major new solo exhibition, Incidents of Travel in the Multiverse, which shows in our galleries from Saturday 6 February – Sunday 10 April 2016. The event is presented with Contact, as part of Queer Contact Festival 2016.
A new publication will be on sale on the night of the event, offering a compelling insight into the artists’ epic sci-fi trilogy. This cosmic travelogue includes a vivid account of the filmmakers’ collaboration with composer Philip Glass and physicist Brian Greene, who provides his own essay elegantly describing the mathematics underpinning the Multiverse. The book continues its journey across time and space with insights on their work by world-renowned mythographer and author Marina Warner, and a sensational new account of the Multiverse from the mind of legendary graphic novelist Grant Morrison.
© 2010 Dunvagen Music Publishers Inc. Used by Permission.
Curator Bren O’Callaghan tells us more about Icarus at the Edge of Time and AL and AL’s exhibition Incidents of Travel in the Multiverse: