Elena Kats-Chernin Clocks
John Adams Gnarly Buttons
Leroy Anderson The Typewriter
Frank Zappa The Adventures of Greggery Peccary
Timothy Orpen clarinet
Nicholas Collon conductor
Aurora Orchestra explores ideas of time, from the playful to the nightmarish, in this Orchestral Theatre production.
At the heart of this eclectic programme is Frank Zappa’s zany masterpiece The Adventures of Greggery Peccary, a raucous whirlwind for voice, actors, narrator and orchestra. Infused with absurdist humour and jazz-rock-pop motifs, this wacky satire philosophises on time through the exceptional pig Greggery, who triggers mayhem when he invents the calendar. The piece’s anarchic exuberance and colourful mash up of rock, pop, jazz and classical styles perfectly reflects the fierce creativity of its legendary creator Frank Zappa, rock star and self-taught composer of complex avant-garde works.
As a counterpoint to Zappa, Elena Kats-Chernin’s Clocks evokes an eerie nightmare of the ticking away of time; Leroy Anderson’s comical concerto for typewriter clicks and rings with whimsy; and John Adam’s Gnarly Buttons jerks and jolts with diverse references to hymns, bluegrass and jazz, while also lyrically paying homage to the memory of his late father.
Tickets: £10 / £20 / £25 / £30
Tickets go on sale 27 February for Southbank Centre Members, 3 March for the general public.