I Only Know I Am

Music by Litha Ethymiou and Martin Scheuregger

Susan Parkes soprano
Ian Harris actor
John Beswick conductor
Bristol Ensemble

I only know I am is a musical and dramatic exploration of sounds and stories from the nineteenth-century asylum. Taking inspiration from the ways in which sound was controlled to give comfort and minimise distress, the show is a sensitive and moving evocation of this world told through the words of poet John Clare.

Supported by the St Hugh’s Foundation for the Arts Development Fund, this is the first performance of I only know I am before it is developed further and taken to venues across the UK in the future.

The show is collaboratively devised and composed by Litha Efthymiou and Martin Scheuregger: after the performance the creators will give a brief talk and take questions about the project and its inspirations. This will give you the opportunity to contribute to the ongoing development of the work.
The composers benefited from a composition residency – Made at the Red House – through Wild Plum Arts and the Britten-Pears Foundation at Benjamin Britten’s home, The Red House, in Aldeburgh, Suffolk.