Sleepwalk: the Dream of Lady Macbeth
In 2023/24 an enterprising St Leonards-based collective around the local band Afrit Nebula had a sellout success at the Kino-Teatr and Fabrica (Brighton) with their multi-media live show The Spirit in the Dust. Now they have returned, this time teaming up with Belgian-born dance artist Yanaēlle Ritter, to present Sleepwalk: The Dream of Lady Macbeth – a contemporary riff on Shakespeare’s great tragedy.
The hour-long piece, mixing dance, music, film and Shakespeare’s words, re-imagines the famous sleepwalk scene in Macbeth in the context of the horrors of the present day: wars, famine, climate emergency. It references and evokes many other aspects of Shakespeare’s tragedy, not least the return of Birnam Wood at the end – in this case Nature’s response to humanity’s ravages.
The original concept and musical composition is by Afrit Nebula’s Elaine Edwards, and the music is arranged and performed live by the band. Elaine is on saxophone and keyboard, Ken Edwards provides bass and voice, and Yair Katz plays drums, percussion and guitar. Yanaēlle Ritter dances the part of Lady Macbeth/Spirit of the Forest. The staging, original film, and lighting are once again created by Hastings film-maker Mark French.
Yanaëlle Ritter is a Belgian-British dance artist, born in the 1990s and based in Eastbourne. A choreographer, teaching artist and performer, she is often involved in interdisciplinary collaborations, and has danced in art galleries, recital rooms, shopping malls, public gardens and even at a train station. Afrit Nebula are a band whose adventurous, original music is influenced by avant-jazz, rock, Middle Eastern and Afro-Cuban styles. They have been at the forefront of art music in Hastings since 2015. Matthew Wright wrote in Jazz Journal: “Strong bass lines from Ken Edwards and Yair Katz’s lively drumming form a bedrock on which the sinuous lines of Elaine Edwards’ soprano sax flourish, with Dervish-like circular excursions.” Mark French is a director of arts and music documentaries. He is film curator for Hastings Coastal Currents Festival and Hastings Filmmakers. He has worked with artists Laetitia Yhap and Roland Jarvis and musician Trevor Watts as well as on many films and TV shows.
For HIP’s last review of Spirit in the Dust, see hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/articles/culture/arts/the-mystery-of-agency-in-a-world-full-of-forces Sleepwalk premiere at the Kino-Teatr, St Leonards, on Friday 3 October, 7.30pm Advance booking and further information from ticketsource.co.uk/kinoteatr/t-ojnlpvl
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