National Theatre of Scotland

NTS AND NVA LAUNCH HALF LIFE

08/06/07

Half Life is a major new landscape work which offers a physical and emotive experience revealing the dark but inspiring mindset of Scotland’s early Neolithic inhabitants. Audiences are invited to explore a series of atmospheric sites and installations based around known and rarely seen prehistoric landmarks, over a 150 sq mile area of stunning Highland landscape.

Half Life was launched by NTS and NVA director Angus Farquar, pictured left at Dunadd hillfort, one of the locations in Half Life and seat of the earliest Scottish kings.

Half Life will be staged throughout the day with a theatrical performance at night. As well as untouched locations, NVA’s interventions will take place on dense forestry plantations, manipulated to create intriguing new entrances and vistas around chosen sites. New audio compositions enhance the smallest living sounds and micro acoustics of the natural environment.

It all happens in Kilmartin Glen, one of Europe’s most renowned prehistoric regions. The extraordinarily rich heritage of Mid Argyll has a remarkable story to tell, through thousands of years of intense marking of living rock formations and the raising and building of henges and burial complexes. It all looks out onto the much feared Corryvreckan, the third largest whirlpool in the world.

A Half Life Book and Day Guide comes with the price of the ticket. It describes routes into the landscape ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours' duration.  The Guide will include a map with essential programme information for all daytime related activities, as well as the location of the night time performance.

The routes follow interpretations of recently recovered archaeological field notes, previously unpublished, which give invaluable insight into the area. Like private diaries, they reveal some of the breakthrough moments in contemporary archaeological thinking, bringing inspiring thinking out of the academic world to a new audience.

Over a 13 week period, 100 3rd year pupils from Lochgilphead High School will work with a team of lead artists from the National Theatre of Scotland. The artists, who have a variety of creative skills and backgrounds, will explore the idea of “Journey” in the physical, emotional and spiritual sense, linking the work taking place in Lochgilphead High School with the site-specific co-production between NVA and National Theatre of Scotland, HALF LIFE.

What journeys do we all make in our lives?  Why do we make these journeys?  Do we make them alone? And do we ever reach our intended destination?

A team of artists, including drama and design specialists, will work in residency in the school two days weekly over a 13 week period.  During this time they will empower the pupils to explore ways of answering these questions in a creative way, working towards an ambitious, one-off, site-specific event within Lochgilphead High School gardens in the week beginning Monday 10th September.

The work created will be a variety of live performance, video imagery, art installation, music composition, but most importantly will be created and owned by the pupils.
 

Half Life
Kilmartin Glen, Argyll.
4-16 September
Previews 3 Sep.

For more information visit NVA.org.uk or the Half Life site.

Tickets are available online from The Hub, Edinburgh or on 0131 473 2056.