"RUNE"
performed at Tête À Tête Opera Festival, Round Chapel (London)

On a planet where history is forbidden, a young girl dares to tell her story. A voyage across galaxies and millennia, hers is a tale of the archipelagos of Khye-rell and their matterwork, through transdimensional canals and sealanes to the RUNE of the universe’s origin. This song, her story – through the very act of being told – will have consequences beyond imagining…

RUNE is a vast cosmological fantasy created in collaboration with Ka Wa Key, UU Studios and the creator and composer Alastair White, featuring an ensemble of three grand pianos conducted by Ben Smith. Smith performs alongside other star pianists Joseph Havlat and Siwan Rhys, as well as the Patricia Auchterlonie and the Simone Ibbet-Brown. Directed by Jarno Leppanen and Gemma Wiliams. RUNE is a unique combination of opera, fashion, and dance. RUNE was performed at sold-out Round Chapel in Hackney, London as part of Tete a Tete opera festival.



Directors: Jarno Leppänen, Gemma A. Williams
Fashion & Textiles: Ka Wa Key Chow, Jarno Leppänen
Photographer: Jarno Leppänen
Movement Director: Jarno Leppänen

Kes’Cha’Au: Patricia Auchterlonie
Khye-Rell: Simone Ibbett-Brown
Music Director: Ben Smith
Film: Hannah Lovell
Camera: Barry Hoffman and Damien Naimad
Sound: Chris Tanton
Piano: Joseph Havlat, Siwan Rhys, Ben Smith
Dancers: Ryan Appiah-Sarpong, Max Gershon, Shakeel Kimotho, Thomas Page
Music: Alastair White
Sculpture: Sid the Salmon
Hair: Maria Kovacs
Assisted by: John Harte, Chris Harris-Gibbs and Evelina Lundgren
Makeup: Michelle Strain
Assisted by: Alina Antofe, Laura Hahnel, Matilda Jose and Richa Khatana