what the dog said to the harvest

Writer & Co-Director lisa luxx Director & Composer Jasmin Kent Rodgman Immersive Co-Producer & Film Co-Director Gaelle Mourre Choreography Sung Im Her Set & Costume Design Milla Clark Lighting Designer Nao Nagai Sound Production Simon Hendry DOP & Editor Ali Shaikh DOP (UK) Laura Seward Poet lisa luxx Soprano Mimi Doulton Mezzo Soprano  Rosie Middleton Contralto Jessica Dandy Guitar (Baroque/Electric) Shannon-Latoyah Simon Percussion Angela Hui Wai Nok Dancers Amanda Pefkou, Samara Langham, Anouk Jouanne

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.