The Dream of Zedkat Nabu

The Dream of Zedkat Nabu was performed at the 2012/13 Woodford Folk Festival

“Zedkat Nabu dreamt that she was baking bread, and as she baked, water suddenly poured forth from her oven forming a great sea. As the sea rose, many and various animals tried to escape the growing deluge of water, crying out with their strange and exotic calls and cries. And on that sea, she came to see herself and her 3 sisters floating ……singing and floating ………..their voices joining those of the animals in a great chorus ……..a chorus of distress, but also of hope ……hope for survival. A chorus so haunting and beautiful that even the deluge of water paused to listen ………”

The Dream of Zedkat Nabu is a Universal story, both ancient and contemporary. It is a story of a world in peril, of species doomed for extinction.We join her dream at the moment of “the Great Chorus” ………the moment when the Great Flood pauses to listen ……….”and know this ……….we are also in that story, and it is no dream. For it is time to sing together to create a Great Chorus that will for us too, turn back the waters of impending extinction”.

The Dream of Zedkat Nabu is a new work devised by Linsey Pollak and performed by 4 wonderful singers – Kacey Patrick, Velvet Pesu, Jeunae Rogers and Nadia Sunde and 4 musicians triggering the calls of endangered animals by striking bamboo poles – Jessica Ainsworth, Fatima (Donna Miller), Linsey Pollak and Zaia Kendall.

This a Musical work with strong visuals – lighting design by Andrew Meadows and costume design by Velvet Pesu. The core of the piece is the sounds of the animals themselves. Evocative calls of endangered species that speak directly to us in a way that words cannot. It is a call to action. A call to save this planet from the impending crisis. This is The Dream of Zedkat Nabu.

Review in Rhythms Magazine (Feb 2013), by Sam Cutler:

The way back down the hill was a damned sight easier than the ascent and I was feeling ready for bed when I stumbled across one of my ‘Woodford magic moments’. Beside a large lake a number of people were seated and I wondered what they were waiting for. I sat down, as much for a rest as for anything, and was soon transported by a magic water tableau of breathtaking beauty.

Four ladies floated ethereally across the lake in illuminated dresses sparkling with lights – they were some ten feet tall and I couldn’t for the life of me work out how they achieved what they were doing. Behind them on the bank of the lake four musicians (or should that be magicians?) struck vertical bamboo poles which gave off strange and somewhat disturbing sounds. The effect was stunning.

I looked in the programme and discovered I had been watching the world premier of a specially commissioned piece by Linsey Pollak. My mind went back to Opera Australia’s La Traviata on Sydney Harbour and here was it’s artistic equivalent mounted on a shoestring budget and with just as much artistic immediacy. The piece was called ‘The Dream of Zedkat Nabu’ and if you ever get a chance to see it then drop everything and go – it was simply amazing and one of the highlights of the whole festival.               

 

Audience comments:

“I had no idea what it was about and just sat there, with my mouth open, for about ten minutes, completely unable to believe my eyes or ears- it was magical and surreal and deeply, hauntingly moving.”

“this piece was extremely beautiful and powerful. What a joy! Thank you for your wonderful work”.

“It was absolutely breathtaking, both visually and aurally!”

“Mystery, magic, music, curiosity, questioning and relief from the ordinary to the incredible…thank goodness for artists because they hold the key to unlocking the door to possibility.”