Queens of Disruption + Live Scores

After a short hiatus, we've once again teamed up with the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire for a special live score performance featuring no less than six live musical scores.

Five composers currently studying at the Conservatoire have taken on the challenge, working with a selection of silent shorts produced between 1903 and 1922. The films explore feminist protest, slapstick rebellion, and suggestive gender play, spotlighting women who refuse to be boxed in, in rebellious and playful ways. All five composers have taken an entirely different approach with their scores and instrumentation, meaning you'll be treated to five brand new pieces of music, as brilliant as they are distinct.

Rosalie and her Phonograph
(dir. Roméo Bosetti, France 1911, 4 mins)
Composer: James Knowles

The Nursemaid's Strike
(dir. André Heuzé, France 1907, 12 mins)
Composer: Vato Klemera

Mary Jane's Mishap
(dir. George Albert Smith, UK 1903, 4 mins)
Composer: Vinicius Faria Motta

Leontine's Boat
(dir. Roméo Bosetti, France 1911, 5 mins)
Composer: Yizhou Wang

Cinderella
(dir. Lotte Reiniger, Germany 1922,13 mins)
Composer: Kinna Whitehead

Tilly's Party
(dir. Lewin Fitzhamon, UK 1911, 7 mins)
Composer: James McIlwrath