Text by CLOT Magazine
Ritual Laboratory is an interdisciplinary platform for sound and movement experimentation within the framework of ritual form, harnessing the transformative potential of communal engagement in performance trance. The Labours of Herakles is an experimental series of 12 participatory sound and movement happenings conceived, developed and performed at Music Hackspace (Somerset House Studios).
The series is based on the ancient Greek myths of the Labours of Herakles as keys to unpack the symbolism of the 12 astrological archetypes. Each Labour functions as a narrative score, catalysing dialogue between musicians, performers and the audience, facilitating a co-created, immersive experience of the myth. The collective trance induced by sound, movement and symbolic narrative allows each participant to become aware of the essential nature of the archetypes. Utilising the transformative potential of inner journeying within an embodied symbol as a tool to catalyse personal change and growth.
For the Scorpionic instalment of the astrological ritual series the team invite the audience to live the myth of Herakles and The Hydra with the backdrop of the brutalist interior of The Silver Building in London. The event will take place on the 17th of November with special guest sound/noise artist Christian Duka.
