A spectacular multi-media programme of Brecht poems and songs, presented by Oxford University’s Humanities Cultural Programme (HCP).

This event is the culmination of Professor John Harle’s year long visiting fellowship at HCP, working with Oxford Professor Tom Kuhn, Professor of 20th-Century German Literature, Brecht expert and translator.

In the first half, Marc Almond will sing hit songs and ballads of the 1920s and 30s, from Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill (‘Mack the Knife’) to Duke Ellington, accompanied by the Guildhall School’s Bauhaus Band and Singers, who also provide the music for the rest of the evening.

The climax and culmination of the second half will be a complete performance of Brecht and Hanns Eisler’s multi-media cantata Bilder aus der Kriegsfibel (‘Scenes from the War Primer’), a commentary on and critique of the Second World War.

Leading into that there will be readings, songs and short films inspired by Brecht poems, with video art by students of the Ruskin School. There will be music from the period, as well as newly commissioned works by Oxford and Guildhall School students.