Details:
The international premiere of New Beginning is taking place at the Grand Théâtre in Luxembourg-Limpertsberg from Friday 16 to Sunday 18 May 2025.
Following the acclaimed UK premiere of New Beginning in London in 2023, Variable Matter and Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg are collaborating to recreate this work for its international premiere.
New Beginning is described as "a one-of-a-kind immersive production that blends stunning projections, a newly composed score and soundscape, poetic text and natural materials to immerse audiences into the depth of our planet".
The organisers added: "Leading with its strikingly beautiful design, New Beginning brings to life the magic of the forest and what lies beneath in a theatrical setting. Narrative, sound and visuals become entangled with each other, creating one coherent thread that considers our relationship to nature. Spanning ancient history to futuristic imaginings of what our world could look like, New Beginning conjures a holistic, 360 degree performance that surrounds the audience and pulls them into a cinematic space, encouraging them to reflect on nature and community".
The show has been remade with 21 young people, aged twelve to eighteen, specially recruited from Luxembourg and rehearsed into the production. "They bring it to life and guide audiences through this constantly evolving, powerful experience. Young people’s voices, thoughts and feelings about our natural world, collected through school workshops, are weaved into the experience," the organisers noted.
New Beginning is designed and directed by award-winning artist David Shearing of artist-led collective Variable Matter, with text and dramaturgy from Zakiya McKenzie, a sound commission and score from composer James Bulley, video projections created by Paul Mumford of digital studio Labmeta and light by Joshua Gadsby.
For the original production, produced in association with Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, British actress Michelle Newell provided the voice of the Guide. For the new production at the Grand Théâtre, a newly translated version by Claire Wagener and Hadi Deaibes has been voiced by Marja-Leena Junker, the Finnish film actress and director of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, which premiered at the Grand Théâtre in 2020.
Performances are taking place on Friday 16 May at 20:00 (in English), Saturday 17 May at 15:00 (in English) and at 20:00 (in French) and Sunday 18 May at 17:00 (in French).
Janine Goedert will deliver an introduction (in English and French) to the one-hour show 30 minutes before each performance.
A Q&A session with the artistic team is planned after the first performance, in the presence of Andrew Ferrone.
Tickets cost €20 for adults and €8 for a youth ticket; Kulturpass accepted. For further details, visit https://theatres.lu/fr/newbeginning. Tickets can also be reserved via email: tickets@lestheatres.lu or via tel.: 479-63901.
Venue: Grand Théâtre (1 Rond-point Schuman, L-2525 Luxembourg)
Organiser: Variable Matter; Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg
Price: €20 for adults; €8 for youth
Reservations: See website
URL: For details, see https://theatres.lu/fr/newbeginning
