This concert involves the audience lying down in one place, with the musicians moving all around the room
A rehearsal in progress for Lullaby, Stranger
The conventional idea of going for a musical concert involves a stage before the audience, who are either seated or standing. But what if that notion is thrown out of the window? What if a musical performance involves the audience members lying prostrate on mattresses, with the musicians in a perpetual state of motion all around them? It allows for an immersive experience where the lines between performer and listener are blurred, which in turn builds a level of intimacy that is heightened by the idea of lying in bed.
And that's exactly what people attending a musical performance called Lullaby, Stranger will get
to experience at a central Mumbai venue this weekend.
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Mumbai-born Salome Rebello, who now works as a choral conductor with the Jerusalem Oratorio Choir in Israel, has curated the music, while city-based Sujay Saple has choreographed the event. The latter tells us, "This is what's going to happen: you enter an empty room that already has 40 mattresses lying around on the floor. You pick one, and lie down on it. Then, the singers enter the room and perform for an hour, during which time they are constantly moving.
Sujay Saple and Salome Robello
"So, they might lie next to you at one point, and at another, sing from a corner in the room.
So, as an audience member, you are located within the concert, in a sense. It's kind of like 3D. And your entire experience keeps changing depending on where you are and where each singer is at any giv-
en point."
The point of the exercise, he adds, is to break away from the linearity of a straight-up live concert or DJ gig scenario. "We are also pushing the boundaries of experiencing music," Rebello tells us, adding, "Lying down changes your emotional space. It is relaxing, and allows you to journey more inward while accessing the music. So, you are able to reach a lot of your inner emotions, like it happens when you are
lying in bed, which is where this whole idea came from anyway."
ON August 11 and 12, 6 pm and 9 pm (four shows in total)
AT G-5/A, Laxmi Mills Estate, Shakti Mills Lane, Mahalaxmi.
CALL 8879208475
ENTRY Rs 500
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