'Whosoever is delighted in solitude, is either a wild beast or a god.'
Aristotle
Solitude is a 40 min audio play exploring various aspects of solitude and loneliness.
We all experience solitude in our lives; sometimes it is welcome, sometimes it is not. It is always a challenge to take on and something we have to learn to deal with. Solitude can be powerful, painful, funny, challenging, tragic or calming and our responses vary depending on our age, our gender, our experiences or our beliefs. Built into the walls of a church, the anchorite's choice was a life of self inflicted seclusion. Inspired by this history, Solitude follows the arc of a life time, from birth to death contrasting modern experiences of solitude and loneliness with those from the past.
Gabriele Heller: Concept, script, realisation and voice
Music:
Pretend by The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble
Ashkhares mi panjara ye (The world is a window) by Gevorg Dabagian
I can do it solo by Gabriele Heller
Redwood Ramble Misremembered by Glenn Jones
St Anger by Metallica
Night by Stephan Micus
O Solitude by Henry Purcell sung by Andreas Scholl
Woke up in the desert by Marcin Wasilewski
The script includes short passages from:
The Cloud of Unknowing
I don't want to be inside me anymore by Birger Sellin
Solitude by Lord Byron
Listener's comments: ...it's a powerful piece to hear all the way through.
I like the technique of the writing and of the reading, both of which are very musical.
I cried and I laughed a lot.
It made me think about the differences and connections between solitude and silence, and the difference between the silence around us and the silence within us.
I found the motion of living in a small chamber within a church quite perturbing and the practicalities were almost comic.
Solitude was presented at: Heritage Open Days 2019, Anker's House Museum,
Chester-le -Street, Country Durham, United Kingdom
14th September 2019
Heritage Open Days 2019, St John's Church,
Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
21st September 2019
Faith in the city we inhabit Festival London 2020,
London, United Kingdom
March 2020
Solitude, St John's Church, Healey, Northumberland, United Kingdom
21st October 2023
