
Naoko Murakoshi, Graham McKelvie, Andrea Nann and Jennifer Dahl. Photo by John Launer.
Conceived and Co-directed by | Kate Alton and Ross Manson
Based on the poetry of The Four Horsemen by | Rafael Barreto-Rivera, Paul Dutton, Steve McCaffery and bpNichol
Choreography by | Kate Alton
Animation by | Bruce Alcock and Global Mechanic
Musical Direction by | John Millard
Dramaturgy by | Ross Manson
Lighting Design by | Itai Erdal
Starring | Jennifer Dahl, Graham McKelvie, Naoko Murakoshi and Andrea Nann
"Please, please, please believe the hype... 65 minutes of seamless and exuberantly integrated dance, animation, poetry and dopy archival footage... just on the right side of the madness-brilliance divide"
3.5 out of 4, The Globe and Mail
Five years in the making, The Four Horsemen Project is a multi-disciplinary extravaganza conceived and co-directed by Toronto's dance-theatre dynamic duo, Ross Manson and Kate Alton, in collaboration with Vancouver animation studio Global Mechanic. Live, on-stage, swirling animation and sonic hi-jinx make the poetry of Canada's 1970s avant-garde scene leap off the page and onto the stage.
The show is based on the work of Toronto's original Four Horsemen: Rafael Barreto-Rivera, Paul Dutton, Steve McCaffery and bpNichol. Their outrageously fun sonic poetry is brought to life by a stellar cast of performers, who surprise with their combination of physical and vocal virtuosity: Jennifer Dahl, Graham McKelvie, Naoko Murakoshi and Andrea Nann. Animation Director Bruce Alcock (TIFF, Venice Bienale) sets the visual poetry of bpNichol and the Horsemen to motion. Archival footage from the 1970s is similarly woven into the show. Work-in-progress showings of the material have received tremendous acclaim.
The Four Horsemen Project uses the philosophical goal of the early sound poets themselves as its structural spine: the idea that poetry is far more than words on a page; poetry encompasses sound, breath and the human body. With this remarkable collaboration, a new generation of artists breathes life into some nearly-forgotten work - iconoclastic, brilliant, delightfully irreverent – work that set the whole world on its ear.
"The Four Horsemen Project, a reworking of a 1970's piece by Canadian sound poetry ensemble the Four Horsemen, is hilarious and brilliantly performed."
Eye Weekly