Never Such Innocence on BBC Radio 3

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Delighted to appear on BBC Radio 3 with pianist Gamal Khamis this evening for interview with Katie Derham and extracts from our acclaimed narrative recital Never Such Innocence about the First World War, ahead of our performance at The English Music Festival at Radley College Oxfordshire on Sunday May 27th. Katie was kind enough to describe the show as "incredibly moving". Tour dates continue through the year. Full details at www.neversuchinnocence.co.uk

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Never Such Innocence

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Looking forward to performances of Never Such Innocence this week at Kingswood School, Bath on Thursday November 9th at 4.30pm & 7pm (tickets via schoolsecretary@kingswood.bath.sch.uk) and Clapham Chamber Concerts on Friday November 10th at 7.30pm.

Audience comments from previous performances:

“A very special, moving and immensely absorbing production”

“Beautifully nuanced show – tender, moving, angry” 

“A spell-binding evening. So compelling to watch and listen to …I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.“

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Myth, Hope and Tragedy

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Looking forward to performing Myth, Hope and Tragedy at All Saints' Church, Church Street, Isleworth, TW7 6BE, a programme of words and music to commemorate the centenary of the Russian Revolution. I'll be reading historical and literary accounts, plus poetry by Yevtushenko, alongside the music of Shostakovich, Prokoviev and Scriabin played by Simon Trentham (cello), Yoriko Gibbs (piano) and Yoriko Wakabayashi (piano). Admission free (with retiring collection). They're all fantastic musicians so do come along if you're around. Should be a fun evening.

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BMW meets Bowers & Wilkins

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Audiophiles will immediately prick up their ears at the sound of the words Bowers & Wilkins, synonymous with ultra high end audio. This uber-stylish film featuring the inner workings of the human ear is part of the launch campaign for the Bowers & Wilkins Diamond surround sound system in the new BMW 5 series... words alone which are probably enough to get both audiophiles and petrol-heads drooling in stereo. It was certainly a pleasure to voice...

Peppa Pig the Movie

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Well I must admit this one was a bit of a departure for the actor whose own kids claimed to be scared when he read them bedtime stories (sorry girls). But even the voice that brought you The Woman in Black, Spooks, The King's Speech and countless other heavy hitting dramas dramas can't help but soften up for the nation's favourite little piggy. This is the trailer campaign currently airing for Peppa Pig the Movie, very nicely done by the team at Create UK.

Never Such Innocence

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The first performance of NEVER SUCH INNOCENCE, a programme of poems, readings and music from the First World War I am performing with the amazing pianist Gamal Khamis takes place on November 3rd 2016 at 7.30pm as part of the Somme 100 commemoration at St Mary's Church, Perivale, UB6 8SS Map. Admission is free (with retiring collection). Do join us if you can: https://www.facebook.com/events/1173146682762046/

Actor Christopher Kent and pianist Gamal Khamis look back at the writing and music that emerged from the period, juxtaposing the words of writers like Wilfred Owen, Edward Thomas, Siegfried Sassoon and Vera Brittain with piano music by composers such as Elgar, Ravel, Debussy, Frank Bridge and Ivor Gurney. 

In a moving and thought-provoking sequence, they trace a narrative from the early innocence and nostalgia of pre-war life, through initial patriotic optimism, to the growing realisation of what was happening at the front and the deep sadness and loss that followed across Europe. As well as poetry the programme will include extracts from letters, diaries and contemporary accounts, plus material drawn from personal family history.

NEVER SUCH INNOCENCE is available for booking for concert societies, festivals, schools and theatres. Please contact Christopher Kent at chris@ckuk.com or +44 7850 595089 for details

More Spirit of Yachting

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Back to IMG today to continue narrating this very entertaining documentary series about all the top offshore yacht racing events around the world. Here's a link to the episode about the 2015 Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup at Porto Cervo, Sardinia last September. Since Rolex partnered the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda over 30 years back, the regatta has become a season highlight. The filming is as spectacular as the boats and the settings are just stunning. It's a rich man's sport though, with the total outlay for a week-long event somewhere around $150,000. Fun to watch though. Broadcasts are ongoing on BBC World and Sky Sports channels.

CK

Poems and Music...

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Delighted to be reading poems as part of this concert with London's Orlando Choir, Fieri Consort and soloists on Thursday 10th March, 6.30pm at the ancient City church of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate (near St Paul's Cathedral) in London.

"Membra Jesu Nostri is a strange and beautiful sequence of devotional cantatas by the German baroque composer Dietrich Buxtehude for choir, soloists and instrumental ensemble. 

Punctuating the seven cantatas and forming a counterpoint to them will be readings by actor Christopher Kent of nineteenth and twentieth century secular poetry by writers including Sylvia Plath, WB Yeats and Simon Armitage."

Thursday 10th March 6.30pm, St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2DQ

Tickets: orlandochoir.org.uk (or on the door)

 

He Named Me Malala

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Very pleased to have recorded the trailer campaign for this hugely impressive new documentary feature from Davis Guggenheim about the inspiring Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who survived a Taliban attack on her life to become a leading advocate for the rights of children and young women and is the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. The movie opens in the UK on November 6th and is highly recommended.

CK