Elastic Theatre, winner of the 2012 Fringe Report Award for Best Theatre Company, presents its first multi-media work, exploring a coming of age story of intrusive thoughts and compulsive rituals. Supported by the Wellcome Trust and the Jerwood Charitable Foundation, this is the first instalment of a creative journey investigating the triggers of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, imaginatively depicted through Elastic Theatre’s trademark fusion of physical performance and contemporary opera.

Consisting of a multi-screen film installation, Julius delves into the imagination of an adolescent boy in rural Italy, who learns from his flamboyant teacher about the life, times and many lovers of Julius Caesar. As intrusive images of himself as a Roman emperor repeatedly flash in his mind, he attempts to erase these by performing increasingly complex rituals. The characters who are most intimately involved in Julius’s life are also the protagonists of his obsessions: alongside his Teacher, they include his Grandmother, a Priest and Julius’s closest friend, Brutus.

This installation coincides with GV Art’s exhibition of Rachel Gadsden’s work, as part of the Theatre of the Mind season.

The issues raised in Julius are being researched with the help of high profile experts in the fields of psychiatry and medical history and in collaboration with organisations such as Bethlem Museum, OCD Action and The Facility (LMU). The project will continue to develop in 2013 and we now invite the public to submit their suggestions for where the story will lead: the most imaginative suggestion will receive a photographic still from the exhibition.
Conceived and directed by Jacek Ludwig Scarso, Julius is a collaboration with film production company Savage Mills, featuring an original score by Ivan Hussey and his band Celloman and designs by Nadia Malik. The cast includes dancer Adam Kirkham, actress Chiara D’Anna, circus artist Joachim Ciocca, soprano Maya Sapone and baritone Nicolas Simeha.

Elastic Theatre has been acclaimed internationally for its groundbreaking productions, stretching the definition of music theatre and the flexibility of this form. Recent collaborations include the Greenwich+Docklands International Festival, RESEO (European Network for Opera and Dance Education), The Living Theatre in New York, BAW in Paris, Opera National de Lyon and Opera Europa.

Highlight Events
Roundtable – Monday 3 September, 6.30pm
Practical Workshop – Thursday 6 September, 6.30pm
Live Event – Thursday 13 September, 6.30pm

GV Art
49 Chiltern Street
London W1U 6LY nearest tube Baker Street
Tel: 020 8408 9800

Opening hours
Tuesday to Friday 11am – 6pm,
Saturdays 11am – 4pm or by appointment.
Admission free