Brainland is a new opera that interweaves three stories from the history of 20th Neuroscience, created by four artists with a background in neuroscience and medicine, currently in development with by a range of associates. In these podcasts the creators of Brainland talk about the project and explore the historical background to those stories by speaking to academics and collaborators.
PODCAST 4: MANHANDLING THE BRAIN
One of the storylines in Brainland concerns the two leading figures of the psychosurgery movement in the middle years of the last century: Egas Moniz and Walter Freeman. In this episode we learn more about them, the clinical and neuroscientific environment of the period. We also learn about a 200-year-old operating theatre in London that is hoping to host the first performance of this central story of the opera.
Contributors:
Dr Stephen Brown, composer http://cornwallcomposers.com/stephen.htm
Adrian Look, dancer, teacher choreographer, https://tanztheateradrianlook.com/creatives/
Dr Ken Barrett, research and design/librettist http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/
Dr Monica Walker. Engagement manager, Old Operating Theatre and Herb Garret, London
https://oldoperatingtheatre.com/
Musical extracts: Brainland Act 1, scenes 7 and 8. Composed by Stephen Brown, libretto by Andrew Platman, Ken Barrett & Heather Angus Leppan, sung by Jodie Li-Smith and Hester Dart & Leo Selleck (Morley alumni).
Brainland the Podcast produced by Ken Barrett and Bob Barrett.
To read more mid 20th century psychosurgery, including the UK experience, click on the link:
For the full score, libretto, story outline, designs, animations and more go to the opera website:
Click this link below to see an animated prelude to Act 1.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNNcslZ2Mnc
Image is of a diorama of Freeman and cadaver (act 2 scene1) made by Ken Barrett.
Contact: steve4cello@ gmail.com
kenb@kenbarrettstudio.co.uk
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