Restoration Drama

Artist: Marion Kalmus
Location: Festival Theatre, Cambridge

Marion Kalmus was commissioned following her Kettle's Yard Fellowship in 1998 to make a temporary work for the listed auditorium of the Festival Theatre in Cambridge, designed by William Wilkins in 1808, and currently part of the Cambridge Buddhist Centre. The tradition of theatre on the site reaches back further still, to the 16th century.

Kalmus wrote, filmed and digitally animated 'Restoration Drama', a moving response to the history and atmosphere of this important space. Projected on the theatre's cyclorama, actors emerged silently from behind a crumbling surface as the sound of a rowdy but absent audience filled the darkened auditorium, appearing trapped between layers of deteriorating plaster and creating a ghost-like presence that echoed past performances.

The project was produced as part of Commissions East's ongoing programme of activity, which aims to engage new audiences for the visual arts beyond the gallery.

This project was a collaboration between Commissions East and Kettle's Yard.

Supported by Arts Council England Lottery funding and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. With the assistance of Cambridge Buddhist Centre and Arup Acoustics.