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Keaton Henson: Six Lethargies

with Britten Sinfonia

Keaton Henson

The world premiere of Henson’s new multi sensory piece performed by Britten Sinfonia, exploring themes of mental illness, trauma and empathy.

Six Lethargies is the culmination of over three years of work from the musician, artist and composer. Composed around, and from within, issues of mental illness and human emotion, the piece aims to express and explain the feelings of anxiety and depression through six connected movements for string orchestra. During the performance a portion of the audience will have their reactions monitored via bio-metrics, allowing their emotional state to control aspects of the production in real time.

Known for his inability to perform live due to anxiety, through Six Lethargies Keaton hands his story over to the orchestra. Not performing himself, he is allowing them to be his voice, as well as providing human connection and empathetic insight, all the while asking the audience ‘if I write how it feels to me, will it make you feel the same?’

Tagged with: Contemporary music

This performance will start promptly at 8pm and is expected to finish by 9.30pm. There will be no interval in the performance and latecomers will only be admitted at a suitable break in the performance. Set times are subject to change.

Discover

keaton henson playing the piano in our library

Barbican Sessions: Keaton Henson

 

For our latest Barbican Session, English folk rock musician Keaton Henson performs an Impromptu on a theme from Six Lethargies in our Library.

photo of keaton henson at karaoke

Watch: Keaton Henson - Alright

Watch the official music video of Keaton Henson's 'Alright'.

 a huge crowd of young people listening to a dj play music somewhere in east london

Listen: Contemporary Music on Spotify

Follow our regularly updated Contemporary Music playlist for a sample of the music you'll hear across our programme. Shuffle recommended. 

Barbican Hall