Event information: Melanie Wilson - Oracle Song
About the show
A poetic and intricate listening experience that sees the award-winning artist collaborate with an AI machine to explore the complexity of human and animal relationships.
Award-winning artist Melanie Wilson collaborates with an AI machine learning tool to explore the conflicted terrain of human and animal relationships through sound.
This poetic, intricate listening experience weaves together language, multi-part vocal composition, field recording and electronic sound to map the fragmentary experience of the biodiversity crisis with kaleidoscopic force.
Created using endangered animal voices from the UK and beyond, the score was developed through a five-year research process into machine learning for composition, supported by PRiSM, The Centre for Practice and Research in Science and Music, at the Royal Northern College of Music.
Oracle Song seeks to take the audience from a place of climate anxiety and grief into a shared landscape of listening and connection.
A note from Melanie Wilson
Oracle Song communes with the presence of more than human beings in our lives: from the colonies of microbes in our bodies and the life forms with whom we breathe, to the industrialised uteruses that feed us and the mythic symbols that haunt our stories. Voiced by five people, this story is both global and intimately specific. It starts in the bodies of the animals we live alongside, and travels out through the ears of one woman to land in the bodies of the audience gathered to listen.
Melanie Wilson, March 2025
Sound credits
Woods Giersbergen NL 190329_1326.ogg by klankbeeld
https://freesound.org/s/541050/
License: Attribution 4.0
Rainforest Morning Chorus.wav by digifishmusic
https://freesound.org/s/57608/
License: Attribution 4.0
Company
Performers
Melanie Wilson, Sarah Dacey, Adey Grummet, Rosie Middleton and Melanie Pappenheim.
Creative and production team
Melanie Wilson Writer, Composer and Sound Designer
Kate Whitley Music Supervisor
Tanya Stephenson Lighting Designer
Grzegorz Staniewicz Production Sound Engineer
Event information
Running time: approximately 50 minutes, no interval
Age guidance: 14+
Content guidance: this event contains strong language and mature themes.
Accessibility
If you're a wheelchair user, please contact our box office on 020 7101 1188 (Mon-Sun 10am - 5:30pm) to book a ticket at a Pay What You Can price.
The Fuel Behind the Fest: in conversation with Melanie Wilson and Julie Rose Bower
Fri 21 Mar, following the 7.45pm performance
Explore the creative approaches to making Oracle Song and the technology at its core. Free to same-day ticket holders.
There are four post-show talks at FuelFest, one with each of the artists whose work makes up the programme. Discover more here.
Special Thanks
Warm thanks to the vocal collaborators and musicians involved in the development of Oracle Song: Benoît André, Michael Betteridge, Sarah Cameron, Peyee Chen, Kate Huggett, Simone Ibbett-Brown, Sarah Keirle, Robin Morton, Yshani Perinpanayagam, Edmund Phillips, Rose Stachniewska and Héloïse Werner.
Thanks to Chris Thorpe. Thanks for support and mentorship: Dr Sam Salem, Emily Howard and Dr Christopher Melen at PRiSM; Laonikos Psimikakis Chalkokondylis at Sound and Music and ASDP for equipment loan. Thanks to Paul Clark for piano loan.
Dreaming Species
Dreaming Species is an online listening experience designed for headphones, conceived and created by Melanie Wilson.
Across three episodes, this dreamlike piece embarks on a journey into a world in which human connection to animals is reimagined using the processes of machine learning. To engage with the crisis of biodiversity loss in the UK, Wilson collaborated with an AI neural net, using the voices of animals at risk of extinction and human voices, creating a new sonic language.
Combining multi-part vocal music, animal and machine voice, text and binaural recording techniques, Dreaming Species is the opening creative chapter of a multi-year research process, in which Wilson has explored the possibilities of machine learning to imagine new sonic meeting grounds for human and animal narratives.
The project was initiated by a Sound and Music’s Dimensions Award and is also supported by funding from Arts Council England.
Dreaming Species can be experienced online for free at: www.dreamingspecies.com
Biographies
Explore FuelFest
FuelFest is a celebration of 20 years of fresh work for adventurous people by inspiring artists.
The festival comprises four new and ambitious works in progress from Racheal Ofori, Will Adamsdale, Jay Bernard and Melanie Wilson that will take place in our experimental studio space, The Pit.
Audiences are invited on an adventure to experience these four brand new performances. Spanning multiple artforms, each piece grapples with a big question of our time.
Following two decades of Fuel collaborating with artists and producing imaginative, trailblazing work that has travelled around the globe, FuelFest will create space for artists to experiment and audiences to experience new ideas.
Pay What You Can
FuelFest is a festival of Pay What You Can events. Simply choose the price closest to what you would like to pay during the the checkout.
Racheal Ofori: Beauty is the Beast
10—12 Mar
Get a first look at this brand new satire, written and performed by Racheal Ofori, that explores the harsh costs of beauty – from scalp-burning perms to injectables, from detox teas to fat injections.
Will Adamsdale: AI, AI, Oh… (or how I wrote a hit sitcom with ChatGPT but we’re not talking now)
13—15 Mar
Perrier Comedy and Fringe First winner Will Adamsdale presents a new autobiographical show about escape, creativity and technology.
Jay Bernard: Joint
17—19 Mar
Weaving together personal experience, social history and real-life cases, Joint is a powerful, multi-media account of Joint Enterprise law by one of Britain's most exciting poets.
Melanie Wilson: Oracle Song
20—22 Mar
A poetic and intricate listening experience that sees the award-winning artist collaborate with an AI machine to explore the complexity of human and animal relationships.
Interview
FuelFest: Exploring the big questions of our times
Discover more about FuelFest and the four ambitious work in progresses performances make up the festival in this article with Kate McGrath, Fuel’s Artistic Director and CEO.
About Fuel
Fuel leads the field in independent producing in the UK’s live performance sector, working with brilliant artists to explore urgent questions, to shine light on how we relate to each other and the world around us, and to tell untold stories by under-represented voices. From theatres to car parks, from schools to public spaces, Fuel produces high quality new theatre that reaches diverse audiences across the UK and internationally. Fuel collaborates with outstanding theatre makers with fresh perspectives and approaches who produce shows, performances or experiences which have direct and playful relationships with their audiences.
Fuel is celebrated for its pioneering producing model that develops innovative ideas through attentive collaboration, a spirit of curiosity, and an emphasis on trust. Fuel has developed a reputation for spirited and surprising new theatre, deep relationships with a wide range of artists, and passionate commitment to inclusion and care for young and diverse audiences.
Fuel was founded in 2004 and is led by Kate McGrath. Since its story began, Fuel has produced shows, festivals, films, installations, podcasts, apps and books. In doing so, Fuel has supported the artistic development of over 120 lead artists or companies and reached more than 1.5 million people, live and digitally, hosted over a hundred internships and been recognised with awards for its work. Fuel is currently working with artists and companies including Khalid Abdalla, Will Adamsdale, Jay Bernard, Common Wealth, Inua Ellams, Lucian Msamati, Racheal Ofori, Toby Olié, Joelle Taylor, Uninvited Guests and Melanie Wilson. Fuel is supported by Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation, the Leche Trust, the Garrick Trust, the Backstage Trust, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the John Ellerman Foundation.
‘The maverick theatre group that pushes new boundaries and makes theatre production sexy’
The Guardian on Fuel
‘Pioneering production company Fuel pushes the boundaries of form and scale.’
The Stage
Feedback
We’re planning to ask for your opinions in a range of ways after the show – you’ll be able to write it down and add it to our feedback board in the foyer or send it to us via the link below.
Lots of the Fuel team will be around for a chat too, so please do come and talk to us – we’ll be wearing Fuel badges. We might also have some sweets to say thanks!
All the shows you’ll see at FuelFest are works in progress. Your feedback is incredibly useful for artists as they develop this work so it is very much appreciated. Your thoughts will shape the future of these projects!
Fuel's AI Usage Policy
As well as sharing work-in-progress performances, we’d also like to share with you our work in progress AI Usage Policy. We aim to be responsible in our use of these rapidly evolving technologies and are developing a policy to guide us. You can read a draft here.
Fuel staff
Development Producer Alex Ferguson
Executive Assistant and Assistant Producer Angela Bryan-Brown
Senior Producer Caitlin Gleeson
Head of Finance David Lewis
Producing Intern Dylan van Breda
Executive Director Ine Van Riet
Clore Leadership Fellow JC Niala
General Manager Joanne Williams
Artistic Director and CEO Kate McGrath
Senior Producer Luke Holbrook
Programme Assistant Makeda Newman
Engagement Producer Marina Sacco
Production Manager Tanya Stephenson
Assistant Producer Todun Iluyomade
Communications Manager V Reynolds
From the Barbican
Barbican Centre Board
Chair
Sir William Russell
Deputy Chair
Tijs Broeke
Deputy Chair
Tobi Ruth Adebekun
Board Members
Randall Anderson, Munsur Ali, Michael Asante MBE, Stephen Bediako OBE, Farmida Bi CBE, Zulum Elumogo, Jaspreet Hodgson, Nicholas Lyons, Mark Page, Anett Rideg, Jens Riegelsberger, Jane Roscoe, Despina Tsatsas, Irem Yerdelen
Clerk to the Board
John Cater and Kate Doidge
Barbican Centre Trust Chair
Farmida Bi CBE
Vice Chair
Robert Glick OBE
Trustees
Stephanie Camu, Tony Chambers, Cas Donald, David Kapur, Ann Kenrick, Kendall Langford, Sir William Russell, Sian Westerman
Directors
Chief Executive Officer (Interim)
David Farnsworth
Deputy CEO (Interim)
Ali Mirza
Director of Development
Natasha Harris
Head of Finance & Business Administration
Sarah Wall
Director for Buildings & Renewal
Dr Philippa Simpson
Director of Commercial
Jackie Boughton
Director for Audiences
Beau Vigushin
Director for Arts and Participation
Devyani Saltzman
Executive Assistant to CEO
Hannah Hoban
Theatre Department
Head of Theatre and Dance
Toni Racklin
Senior Production Manager
Simon Bourne
Producers
Liz Eddy, Jill Shelley, Fiona Stewart
Assistant Producers
Mrinmoyee Roy, Mali Siloko, Tom Titherington
Production Managers
Jamie Maisey, Lee Tasker
Technical Managers
Steve Daly, Jane Dickerson, Nik Kennedy, Martin Morgan, Stevie Porter
Stage Managers
Lucinda Hamlin, Charlotte Oliver
Technical Supervisors
James Breedon, Charlie Mann, Josh Massey, Matt Nelson, Adam Parrott, Lawrence Sills, Chris Wilby
Technicians
Kendell Foster, David Kennard, Burcham Johnson, Bart Kuta, Christian Lyons, Kieran Poynter, Fred Riding, Fede Spada, Matt Turnbull
PA to Head of Theatre
David Green
Production Administrator
Caroline Hall
Production Assistant
Ashley Panton
Stage Door
Julian Fox, aLbi Gravener
Creative Collaboration
Head of Creative Collaboration
Karena Johnson
Senior Producer for Learning and Participation
Oluwatoyin Odunsi
Senior Manager
Sarah Mangan
Producer
Josie Dick
Assistant Producer
Carmen Okome
Marketing Department
Head of Marketing
Jackie Ellis
Deputy Head of Marketing
Ben Jefferies
Senior Marketing Manager
Kyle Bradshaw
Marketing Manager
Rebecca Moore
Marketing Assistants
Antonia Georgieva, Ossama Nizami
Communications Department
Head of Communications
James Tringham
Senior Communications Manager
Ariane Oiticica
Communications Manager
HBL
Communications Officer
Sumayyah Sheikh
Communications Assistant
Andrea Laing
Audience Experience
Senior Audience Experience Managers
Oliver Robinson, Liz Davies-Sadd, Ben Skinner
Ticket Sales Managers
Jane Thomas, Bradley Thompson, Lucy Allen
Ticket Sales Team Leaders
Molly Barber, Alex Steggles, Máire Vallely, Nicola Watkinson, Charlotte Day
Operations Managers
Tabitha Fourie, Aksel Nichols, Ben Raynor, Samantha Teatheredge, Hayley Zwolinska
Operations Manager (Health & Safety)
Mo Reideman
Audience Event & Planning Manager
Freda Pouflis
Venue Managers
Catherine Campion, Scott Davies, Maria Pateli, Lotty Reeve, Shabana Zaman
Assistant Venue Managers
Sam Hind, Bronagh Leneghan, Melissa Olcese, Daniel Young
Young Crew Management
Dave Magwood, Rob Magwood, James Towell
Access and Licensing Manager
Rebecca Oliver
Security
Operations Manager
Naqash Sheikh
Audience Experience Coordinator
Ayelen Fananas
