The Pocket Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Pocket Orchestra is a play written by Graeme Garden
, with the music scored by Callum McLeod. It ran in London at Trafalgar Studios 2 from the 26th of April 2006 until the 20th of May 2006. The idea was devised by Callum McLeod after putting together a concert of his fathers' favourite pieces of classical music arranged for small groups of musicians. The Director was Richard Williams, the designer David Collis and the lighting designer David Horn.
Subtitled "The Unlikely Lives of the Great Composers", it is a 90 minute history of classical music told through the lives of the great composers. Twenty-six different composers are featured on stage during the course of the show, which features live performances from a cast of six actor/musicians who were Sebastian Bates, Emma Correlle, Karen Fisher-Pollard, Ella Smith, Paul Arden-Griffiths, Ian Harris and additionally has former Doctor Who
star Sylvester McCoy
as the host (or Showman) who guides the audience through the performance. Features of the show included singing a laundry list to "Largo al Factotum" from The Barber of Seville
, a short snippet of John Cage
's 4′33″ and Sylvester McCoy playing the spoon
s.
Graeme Garden
David Graeme Garden OBE is a Scottish author, actor, comedian, artist and television presenter, who first became known as a member of The Goodies.-Early life and beginnings in comedy:...
, with the music scored by Callum McLeod. It ran in London at Trafalgar Studios 2 from the 26th of April 2006 until the 20th of May 2006. The idea was devised by Callum McLeod after putting together a concert of his fathers' favourite pieces of classical music arranged for small groups of musicians. The Director was Richard Williams, the designer David Collis and the lighting designer David Horn.
Subtitled "The Unlikely Lives of the Great Composers", it is a 90 minute history of classical music told through the lives of the great composers. Twenty-six different composers are featured on stage during the course of the show, which features live performances from a cast of six actor/musicians who were Sebastian Bates, Emma Correlle, Karen Fisher-Pollard, Ella Smith, Paul Arden-Griffiths, Ian Harris and additionally has former Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
star Sylvester McCoy
Sylvester McCoy
Sylvester McCoy is a Scottish actor. As a comic act and busker he appeared regularly on stage and on BBC Children's television in the 1970s and 80s, but is best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1987 to...
as the host (or Showman) who guides the audience through the performance. Features of the show included singing a laundry list to "Largo al Factotum" from The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
, a short snippet of John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
's 4′33″ and Sylvester McCoy playing the spoon
Spoon
A spoon is a utensil consisting of a small shallow bowl, oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery , especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for serving. Spoons are also used in food preparation to measure, mix, stir and toss ingredients...
s.