Tate Modern
11 - 15 July 2018
William Kentridge The Head & the Load 2018 © Stella Olivier
The Head & the Load, a new work conceived and directed by William Kentridge with music by Philip Miller, will receive its world premiere in Tate Modern’s iconic Turbine Hall from 11–15 July 2018. The performance is part of 14-18 NOW, the UK’s arts programme for the First World War Centenary, and commemorates the millions of African porters and carriers who served during the conflict. The work is co-commissioned with New York’s Park Avenue Armory and Ruhrtriennale, with additional support from Holland Festival.
The Head & the Load sees Kentridge work with his longtime collaborator Philip Miller, one of South Africa’s leading composers, and choreographer and main dancer Gregory Maqoma, to create what the artist describes as “an interrupted musical procession”. This rich and multi-layered performance features an international cast of singers, dancers and performers, many of whom come from South Africa, with Miller’s score performed live by New York-based chamber orchestra The Knights.
Taking its title from a Ghanaian proverb, ‘the head and the load are the troubles of the neck’, this epic theatrical-music piece will tell the neglected story of the millions of African porters and carriers who served British, French and German forces during the First World War. This will be Kentridge’s most ambitious project to date, and draws on every aspect of his practice to combine music, dance, film projections, mechanised sculptures and shadow play.
William Kentridge is an internationally acclaimed South African artist, renowned for the evocative power of his work, which has thrilled audiences around the globe. His exhibitions and large-scale, staged performances delve into the history of colonialism in Africa and the aspirations and failures of revolutionary politics, while engaging a wide-range of visual and aural references - from European high modernism, to African traditional and contemporary music and dance. Operating on a grand scale his work has been shown and collected by museums all over the world.
William Kentridge said:
'The Head & the Load is about Africa and Africans in the First World War - that is to say about all the contradictions and paradoxes of colonialism that were heated and compressed by circumstances of the war. It is about historical incomprehension, inaudibility and invisibility. The colonial logic towards the black participants could be summed up by: ‘Lest their actions merit recognition, their deeds must not be recorded.’ The Head & the Load aims to recognise and record.'
Frances Morris, Director of Tate Modern, said:
'Tate Modern is committed to telling relevant and complex global stories across all art forms and we are privileged to be premiering this poignant new performance devised by William Kentridge. The Head & the Load will bring long overdue attention to the African contribution in the First World War, recognising the weight of a history made heavier by its invisibility.'
Jenny Waldman, Director of 14-18 NOW, said:
'14-18 NOW commissions artists to create new work inspired by the First World War. We are delighted to co-commission William Kentridge to create this new performance work, a powerful monument to the huge sacrifice made by millions of Africans during the First World War.'
Visitors to Tate Modern will also be able to view works by Kentridge across both its free collection displays, and cinema programme. Opening in July, a dedicated display in the gallery’s Artist & Society wing will showcase the animated short film Ubu Tells the Truth 1997. The work combines images from documentary films and photographs together with moving puppets and animated drawings, to express stories of human rights violations during the apartheid era. To accompany the display, a selection of short animated films by Kentridge will be screened in the gallery’s Starr Cinema on 4 July. Curated by the artist himself, they will take visitors on a journey through five decades of Kentridge’s filmmaking practice.
An in conversation event with the artist discussing The Head & the Load will take place at Tate Modern on 14 July.
The Head & the Load by William Kentridge
11 – 15 July 2018, Tate Modern
£20
Performance times vary, please check website for details
Tickets available at tate.org.uk
Running time: approximately one hour
Creative team:
William Kentridge, Concept & Director
Phillip Miller, Composer
Thuthuka Sibisi, Composer and Music Director
Gregory Maqoma, Choreography
Catherine Meyburgh, Janus Fouché and Žana Marović, Video Design
Greta Goiris, Costume Design
Sabine Theunissen, Set Design
Urs Schönebaum, Lighting Design
Luc De Wit, Associate Director
Mark Grey, Sound Design
Duško Marović, Cinematography
Performed and created by:
Actors: Mncedisi Shabangu, Hamilton Dlamini, Luc De Wit, Nhlanhla Mahlungu; Featured Vocalists & Performers: Joanna Dudley, Ann Masina, Bham Ntabeni, N`faly Kouyate, Sipho Seroto; Dancers: Gregory Maqoma, Julia Zenzie Burnham, Thulani Chauke, Xolani Dlamini, Nhlanhla Mahlangu; Musicians: Vincenzo Pasquariello (piano), Tlale Makhne (percussion), N`faly Kouyate (kora); Ensemble Vocalists: Mhlaba Buthelezi, Ayanda Eleki, Grace Magubane, Ncokwane Lydia Manyama, Tshegofatso Moeng, Mapule Moloi, Lindokuhle Thabede; The Knights: Michael P. Atkinson (French horn), Sam Budish (percussion), Shawn Conley (bass), Christina Courtin (violin), Samuel Ewens (trumpet), Mario Gotoh (viola), Colin Jacobsen (violin), Nicolas Jones (trombone), Nathan Koci (accordion), Adrian Miotti (tuba), David Nelson (trombone), Andrew Rehig (flute), Caitlin Sullivan (cello).
