451

Periplum & Corn Exchange Newbury

Installation, Music/Sound, Theatre

Reading is forbidden, all literature is outlawed…

Inspired by Ray Bradbury’s visionary novel Fahrenheit 451, this incendiary outdoor performance explores the story of a society where books are banned and firemen employed to burn them.

451 is a 360-degree surround performance combining immersive sound installation with high-octane dramatic action and pyrotechnics to depict a dystopic society where people seek happiness in a world of technology and acts of violence are rewarded.

Bradbury’s classic text has proven prophetic – reflected in the rise of the iPad, surveillance, interactive media, the televised pursuit of fugitives, global consumerism and the continuing radical power of the written word. As we witness a rise in monitoring and censorship of the internet we might even believe that there could be a future where books may once again hold a secret knowledge..

About Periplum

Brighton-based visual theatre company Periplum, some of the country’s most exciting creators of large-scale outdoor performance team up with Corn Exchange Newbury and 101, its dedicated outdoor arts creation centre to create this dramatic new co-production.

Formed in 1999 by Artistic Directors Claire Raftery and Damian Wright, Periplum produces ground-breaking site-responsive & outdoor theatre performance, making work that is story-led and content-driven while bringing the intimacy of human drama into shows of a spectacular scale. In collaboration with composers, designers, engineers & pyrotechnicians, the company deliver highly visual, socially significant and emotionally explosive work for all the senses

Production Credits

Damian Wright and Claire Raftery (Co-Artistic Directors); Simon Chatterton (Producer).

Funding, commissioning and partner credits

451 has been commissioned by Without Walls, Brighton Festival, Greenwich+Docklands International Festival and Norfolk & Norwich Festival.

Built at 101 Outdoor Arts Creation Space. Supported by Greenham Common Trust and Arts Council England