Profane & Sacred City

Featuring:

A live performance of the Prologue of The Apologia of Count Cagliostro, a play in development written by Gillian McIver and directed by Jagoda Kamov. Maurizio Molino will play the enigmatic and compelling Alessandro Cagliostro (1743-1795).

A performance by Robert Poulter with his renowned faithful recreation of Philip James de Loutherbourg (1740-1812)’s Eidophusikon, a mechanical theatre simulating landscapes and weather. Poulter will perform his New Model Theatre’s play Pandemonium, which features ‘de Loutherbourg and Gainsborough in a double act’ and ‘tells of de Loutherbourg’s life and work within his own Eidophusikon and paintings’ (source).

A short video piece by the artist Marwan Elgamal, with musical and spoken accompaniment by Femi Oriogun-Williams who will engage with the music of Swedenborgian composer François-Hippolyte Barthélémon (1741-1808).

An exclusive preview of Gillian McIver’s upcoming graphic novel about de Loutherbourg which features Swedenborg, illustrated by Anna Chiarini.

PROGRAMME

• 6.00 pm. Doors open.
• 6.30 pm. Prologue to the play The Apologia of Count Cagliostro, written by Gillian McIver and directed by Jagoda Kamov. Performed by Maurizio Molino.
• 7.15 pm. Gillian McIver, ‘Profane & Sacred City’. Talk and preview reading from Gillian’s upcoming graphic novel about de Loutherbourg, which features Swedenborg, illustrated by Anna Chiarini.
• 8.00 pm. Pandaemonium. Model theatre performance by Robert Poulter.
• 8.30 pm. Video piece by artist Marwan Elgamal, accompanied by Music and poetry by Femi Oriogun-Williams.
• 9.00 pm. Finish.

To book, please RVSP to info@swedenborg.org.uk, or alternatively book via Eventbrite here.

About Gillian McIver

Gillian McIver is an artist, art historian, filmmaker and curator based in London. Her residency at Swedenborg House explores the life and work of Swedenborg’s follower and acquaintance, the artist, stage designer and occultist Philip James de Loutherbourg—culminating in a creative restaging of Loutherbourg’s groundbreaking Eidophusikon (1781), an antecedent to cinema. Loutherbourg painted the portrait of Swedenborg which hangs prominently on display in Swedenborg House.

Though renowned in his time, Loutherbourg has been largely ‘written out’ of art history. Gillian is working on a graphic historical fiction about Loutherbourg, with the aim of drawing attention to this remarkable figure. Investigating Loutherbourg’s occult practices, theatre work, paintings, friendships (with Cagliostro, Gainsborough and others) and his groundbreaking inventions, Gillian’s discoveries and collaborations will be manifested in exhibitions and live performances at Swedenborg House during the residency.