Keaton Henson, Britten Sinfonia

Keaton Henson’s new piece Six Lethargies; an immersive evening exploring themes of trauma, mental illness and empathy, and how art conveys emotion, will receive its world premiere this summer at the Barbican.

Six Lethargies is the culmination of over 3 years of work from the musician, artist and composer. Composed around, and from within, issues of mental illness and human emotion, the piece aims to express and explain the feelings of anxiety and depression through six connected movements for string orchestra. It will be performed by Barbican Associate Ensemble, Britten Sinfonia.

As a performer known for his inability to perform live due to anxiety, Six Lethargies is Keaton's way of handing his story over to the orchestra, allowing them to be his voice, all the while asking the audience ‘if I write how it feels to me, will it make you feel the same?’

Keaton last appeared as part of the Barbican’s Contemporary Music programme at Oval Space in October 2014; the sold out Keaton Henson presents Cellophony, Vivaldi's Four Seasons brought a multisensory performance of the iconic classical piece to the stage.