13 Oct LOOK AHEAD: Here Lies Love Coming at the National Theatre

Concept and lyrics: David Byrne
Music: David Byrne and Fatboy Slim
Additional Music: Tom Gandey and J Pardo
Director: Alex Timbers
Choreography: Annie-B Parson
Set design: David Korins
Costume design: Clint Ramos
Lighting: Justin Townsend
Projection design: Peter Nigrin
Sound: M. L. Dogg and Cody Spencer
Music supervisor: Kimberly Grigsby
Collaborating music producer: Justin Levine
Music editor: Matt Stine

The award-winning New York production of David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s musical Here Lies Love has its press opening in the newly refurbished Dorfman Theatre (formerly the Cottesloe) tonight.

The Public Theater’s production of Here Lies Love, which premiered in New York in 2013 to critical and popular acclaim, traces the astonishing journey of Imelda Marcos, First Lady of the Philippines, from her meteoric rise to power to descent into infamy and disgrace. The new Dorfman Theatre is transformed into a pulsating club for an immersive theatrical event which combines heart-pounding beats with adrenaline-fuelled choreography and 360-degree staging.

David Byrne is a founding member of the band Talking Heads and creator of the record label Luaka Pop. His works include Playing the Building, an interactive sound installation at the Battery Maritime Building, New York and the Roundhouse in London; contributions to the score of The Last Emperor, for which he won an Oscar; Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, a collaboration with Brian Eno; This Must be the Place, a collaboration with Will Oldham for the soundtrack to the Sean Penn film; and Love This Giant, his collaboration with musician St. Vincent.

Fatboy Slim, also known as Norman Cook, is a Grammy Award-winning DJ, musician and record producer. He first rose to prominence in the 1980s as bassist of the indie rock band The Housemartins, and went on to form the band, Beats International. In 1996, as Fatboy Slim, he released Better Living Through Chemistry, and his follow-up successes include You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby and Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars. In 2008 he collaborated with David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal on The Brighton Port Authority.

Casting:
Christine Allado – Ensemble
Gia Macuja Atchison – Estrella Cumpas / Ensemble
Mark Bautista – Ferdinand Marcos
Lauren Chia – Ensemble
Christopher Chung – Ensemble
Julius Ebreo – Ensemble
Jim Andrew Ferrer – Ensemble
Li-Tong Hsu – Aquino’s Mother / Ensemble
Dean John-Wilson – Ninoy Aquino
Maria Lawson – Ensemble
Kok-Hwa Lie – Swing
Frances Mayli McCann – Featured soloist / Ensemble
Natalie Mendoza – Imelda Marcos
Aaron Jan Mercado -Swing
Martin Sarreal – DJ / Ensemble
Julie Yammanee – Swing
Sunny Yeo – Swing

Audiences are advised to dress comfortably and those in the pit performance area will stand and dance with the actors. There will be seating in the galleries; the performance length is 90 minutes. In addition to places bookable in advance, 20 tickets at £20 in the pit will be made available every Friday at 12 midday for the week ahead for every performance, bookable online.

For tickets and information: nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows
Dates: 30 September – 8 January 2015
Location: National Theatre’s The Dorfman
Image credit: Tristram Kenton