Pachamama Productions, a Glasgow based theatre company has been awarded funds from Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme to create GRIT, an international collaborative theatre production which will celebrate the life and music of Martyn Bennett who tragically died in 2005 at the young age of 33.
Set up by actor, director and musician, Cora Bissett, Pachamma Productions have proven to be a ground breaking tour de force in theatre creating challenging works such as the hit new political musical Glasgow Girls which has been nominated as Best Musical Production in the UK Theatre Awards.
Alongside Cora will be one of Scotland’s most provocative and urgent playwrighting voices Kieran Hurley who was responsible for Beats, based around the 1994 Criminal Justice Act which outlawed raves. Add to this international and scottish dance, circus and theatre artists including Canada’s renowned choreographer Dana Gringas (Animals of Distinction) and the world renowned technical Director of Cirque Du Soliel, Andrew Watson and you have the making of something that promises to be a truly cross-form total theatre experience. It will be staged firstly in Tramway One (Glasgow) then in a unique Midsummer weekend in Mull.
This production will tell the painful yet inspiring story of a young man’s phenomenal musical imagination, and his fierce fight against the cancer which ultimately robbed him of his short life at 33. His passion, his fierce love of life, music, the country and people who inspired his ground breaking creations are evoked and explored visually, physically and immersively in this highly ambitious musical adventure. martynbennett.com
Whilst this project is challenging it couldn’t be any other way…Martyn was afterall a revolutionary who squeezed a hell of a lot into a short life.
Martyn playing on RTE in ’93
Piping Hot in 1999
What Am I Doing Here
Music from David Harrower’s play ‘Knives In Hens’. The track is called ‘What Am I Doing Here’ and was shown on Ceol Tacsi featuring Tommy Smith, Jim Sutherland, Donald Shaw & Manus Lunny.
Find out more here:
http://martynbennett.com/News_014.html