“The Ballad of Reading Gaol”

“The Ballad of Reading Gaol”

In 2014, KollektivA releases the concept album "The Prison Ballad". It is a fully-integrated thematic, musical work, which from the beginning was worked on in the studio to be presented in a theatricalised form. It took the significant response of the audience to the project and the collaboration of KollektivA with great, up-and-coming artists, to set up the stage version of the Prison Ballad in forms never seen before by the Greek audience. To create a performance that is absolutely innovative, but set up entirely independently. Tasos Bekiaris carried out the direction and choreography, while Christina Mitropoulou undertook the theatrical adaptation.

The theme of the play is the "imprisonment - liberation" dichotomy and is inspired by Oscar Wilde's poem, "The Ballad Of Reading Gaol" (1897), written by the great Irish author shortly after his release from prison. Everyday forms of individual and collective incarceration. The modern world as a prison. The primal need for freedom. The performative development of a hard rock record where musicians, actors and dancers come together to tell a story of liberation in the time of imprisoned minds. Sound, voice and body converge to present a radical approach to the potential synergy between the arts, composing a proposal that elevates the theatrical event into a full-blown experiential experience.

The Ballad of Prison was presented every Sunday in January at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation, just before the expected release of the new KollektivA album in early 2016. Their digital single "Elena", which is the precursor of the album, is already released by 5th season records. It is a song inspired by the story of 6-year-old Eliza Izquierdo, which prompts KollektivA to address the sensitive issue of child abuse. A creation with a strong message delivered in a special way, just like "The Prison Ballad”.