what the dog said to the harvest

Lisa luxx spoken word

Rosie Middleton mezzo soprano

Angela Wai Nok Hui percussion

jasmin kent rodgman synths & sound art

Shannon Latoyah Simon electric guitar

Ffion Campbell-Davies movement and vocals

what the dog said to the harvest is a new collaboration between poet + writer lisa luxx and composer jasmin kent rodgman. A hybrid performance-installation drawing on opera, dance, spoken word, binaural sound and archive + documentary film.

The work confronts the subject of climate migration & racism; human displacement as a result of climate emergency and the inequities faced by climate refugees. This is a campaign for climate justice.

Combining the immediacy of live performance and the intimacy of installation, what the dog said to the harvest connects our past with our not-too-distant future, asserting the tangible impact Western-centric philosophies and behaviours have had on underrepresented and silenced communities on the “global” stage.

lisa luxx’s libretto weaves poetry, memoir and verbatim, alongside metaphorical takes on how the climate crisis has long since arrived for Middle Eastern communities and the Global South. jasmin kent rodgman’s score + av installation features field recordings, flute, soprano, electric guitar, synth and percussion, experienced via a two-tier live + surround speaker/headphone set up, alongside documentary film shot by Syrian filmmaker Ali Sheikh Khudr.

A promenade installation, audience members will be free to move around the space as the work unfolds around them.

We are excited to bring this bold and experimental new performance to Kings Place as part of Tête à Tête: the Opera Festival 2022. Please join us as we share what the dog said to the harvest with audiences for the first time, where we’ll be actively inviting thoughts and engaging in direct conversation with the project’s various communities as we develop the project into a large-scale work for 2023/24.

Generously supported by Sensoria Festival and British Council with additional support from Shubbak.