JAMES JOYCE'S The Dead

Presented by The Fourth Choir

"It’s rare to sit amid such a spellbound audience, transfixed by the narration and the music – and, yes, there were tears” The Observer

"It’s so, so beautiful” Scott Matthewman, The Reviews Hub

Returning for the third year in a row, this atmospheric presentation of James Joyce’s masterpiece by The Fourth Choir fits Wilton’s like a glove. Maybe that’s why all previous performances have sold out a month in advance - so don’t wait to book.

Set at a New Year’s party in Dublin in 1907, The Dead was hailed by T.S. Eliot as one of the greatest short stories ever written. A casual overhearing of an Irish folk song triggers memories so powerful that the dividing line between those who have died and those that remain becomes vanishingly thin.

The Fourth Choir, London’s queer classical choir, explores how unaccompanied singing can add layers of emotion to a powerful story. The music includes Irish folk songs, an exquisite Tudor Ave Maria, works by contemporary Irish composers, Áine Mallon and Rhona Clarke, and an arrangement by The Fourth Choir’s Music Director, Jamie Powe, of Bid Adieu, the only known song for which Joyce wrote both the words and the melody.

"James Joyce’s The Dead brought vividly to life by this exceptionally polished LGBTQ+ choir”. The Guardian



Image Night, Trinity Churchyard - Victoria Garland