Fag Break

That was such fun! - Participant

Fag Break is a site-specific musical game for two musicians and two "players" and the result of a commission to contribute a piece to be performed to an audience of two in a gallery space in Plovdiv, Bulgaria as part of a Capital of Culture event (2019).

Inspired by the experimental game compositions of John Zorn, the piece is improvised following a set of instructions and a diagram. However, the piece also requires active participation from two audience members. They roll their dice and move along the squares, spiraling in towards the musicians and encountering objects on the way, which they can choose to interact with or not.

The first performance was in a former tobacco factory and featured lighters, cigarette packets, ominous percussion, classical cello and echoes of Otis Redding’s 'Cigarettes and Coffee'.

Second performances took place at the Profound Sound Festival (2020) in Folkestone Quarterhouse, which was built on the site of a building firm, a cake shop and a beer shop.

Percussion - Haydn Ackerley (Plovdiv)

Cello - Laura Ritchie (Plovdiv)

Voice, Bottle, Hammer - Anna Braithwaite (Folkestone)

Footage shot by mistereb.com

On tour from spring 2021

Watch one whole round of Fag Break as played in Folkestone here