Brockley Jack Studio has boldly began 2022 with a repertory season – The Dyer’s Hand. The two linking plays, written and directed by Ross McGregor, told on alternating nights by a single cast, and produced by the award-winning and critically-acclaimed Arrows & Traps Theatre are a fiery blend of romance and struggle.
The two plays revolve around the life of Gustav Holst. The first, Holst: The Music In The Spheres, tells of the barriers he overcame to write his iconic The Planets Suites.
Born into a family of musicians, Holst began his career as a humble music teacher, struggling to make ends meet.
After a crippling childhood illness robs him of his vision and his ability to hold musical instruments, he embarks on one final desperate effort to write the great work that will define him and classical music forever: The Planets Suite.
The Music In The Spheres tells the story of the man behind the music, as he challenges an elitist industry that sees no space in it for people like him. A courageous story of struggle, discovery and the need to be understood.
The second play, Payne: The Stars Are Fire, is the tale of one of Holst’s most brilliant students – Cecilia Payne – as she begins her groundbreaking work in astronomy at Harvard Observatory in 1923.
Set five years after the events of The Music In The Spheres, The Stars Are Fire follows the phenomenal true story of Cecilia Payne as she begins her pioneering work.
One of the first trailblazing women to receive a PhD in the United States, Cecilia soon makes a discovery that turns everything humanity knows about the universe completely on its head, and she must decide whether to fight or fall as powerful authorities try to silence her.
The Stars Are Fire is the powerful story of England’s most pioneering scientific explorer, telling a bold-hearted romance about one woman’s love affair with the stars.
Brockley Jack Studio Theatre, 410 Brockley Road, London, SE4 2DH. Admission: £16, £14 concessions (12+). Booking: www.brockleyjack.co.uk – 0333 666 3366 (£1.80 fee for phone bookings only)
Holst: The Music In The Spheres: Dates: 18 January 2022 to 19 February 2022. Times: Tuesday 18 – Saturday 22 January, Friday 28 January, Tuesday 1, Thursday 3, Tuesday 8, Thursday 10, Saturday 12 & Wednesday 16 February at 7.30pm.
Matinee performances: Saturday 5th and Saturday 19th February at 3.00pm.
Payne: The Stars Are Fire: Dates: 25 January 2022 to 19 February 2022. Times: Tuesday 25 – Thursday 27 January, Saturday 29 January, Wednesday 2, Friday 4, Saturday 5, Wednesday 9, Friday 11, Tuesday 15, Thursday 17, Friday 18 & Saturday 19 February at 7.30 pm.
Matinee performance: Saturday 12 at 3.00 pm.