The tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, which brought New Orleans to its knees in 2005, is to be thrown under the spotlight in a new piece of site-specific theatre to play at the Bargehouse at Oxo Tower Wharf this autumn.
Katrina, which runs at the unusual venue from 1 to 26 September, is comprised entirely of accounts from survivors of the devastating disaster and those responsible for the failed relief effort. Using the musical tradition of the area and these harrowing testimonies, Katrina examines the humanitarian crisis that saw 80% of the city’s homes swamped by floods and its inhabitants enduring without food or clean water until their government finally came to their aid.
At the Bargehouse, Katrina will take audiences on a trip through the drowned city as they move through the five storey venue.
The Jericho House, which stages Katrina, is a company which specialises in partnerships between theatre, music and installation art. The company was founded by Katrina writer Jonathan Holmes in 2008, following his previous collaborations with Harriet Walter, Imogen Stubbs and Irene Jacob on Fallujah, and Alan Howard, Harry Christophers and The Sixteen on a series of concerts at the South Bank Centre.
Katrina is the latest in a growing number of site-specific shows staged in unusual venues around London, which has included Punchdrunk’s The Masque Of The Red Death which was staged throughout the BAC, Stovepipe at the West 12 shopping centre and, most recently, Tunnel 228, which was staged by Punchdrunk and the Old Vic underneath Waterloo Station.
Tickets for Katrina can be bought via the Young Vic.
MA