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We will revive one of our landmark works this December with a special film-with-live-orchestra performance in celebration of the centenary of what is considered one of the greatest films ever created, Battleship Potemkin.For one night only on 6 December, Plymouth’s University’s The House performing arts centre will journey audiences to a Russian Imperial Navy battleship on the Black Sea when a mutinous uprising by the ship's crew against their ruthless officers, sparked by spoiled meat, becomes a violent clash and one of the most famous closing scenes in cinema history.
The Pit Orchestra accompanies Sergei Eisenstein’s legendary 1925 silent film, widely considered a masterpiece in early cinema and which was inspired by the failed 1905 Russian Revolution. Its iconic climatic scene - a fictional massacre of civilians on the iconic Odessa steps in Ukraine - is widely studied for its editing and pioneering use of montage.
First commissioned and performed in 2017, the powerful soundtrack was originally composed collectively by The Pit Orchestra members under the guidance of lead composers Tom Richardson, Chris Muirhead and Chris Bailey. It has now been reimagined by Tom Richardson for the 2025 season with technical guidance from the virtuosic, internationally-renowned composer Simon Dobson.
Richardson says, “Battleship Potemkin not only represents a milestone in the grand history of cinema, as well as the shorter history of The Pit Orchestra, it is also a potent symbol of revolution and resistance to established authority and oppression; a position that lies at the heart of The Pit Orchestra’s ethos. We want to honour the film’s legacy, the anti-establishment spirit of Russia's post-revolution music scene, the geo-political moment in which the centenary is occurring, and our own code of DIY collective action.”
Support comes from the wonderful Ukrainian Singers of Plymouth who will be performing a range of traditional and contemporary Ukrainian songs.
19:30 - Doors
20:00 - The Ukrainian Singers of Plymouth
21:00 - Battleship Potemkin
22:15 - End
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The House, Plymouth, United Kingdom
Tickets
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