Storm-Cloud: A Multimedia Performance of John Ruskin's 1884 lecture

Join us in Manchester for a not-to-be-missed performance of John Ruskin's controversial Victorian lecture about the darkness of clouds, which anticipates current concerns about climate change. This is a free event in the Grosvenor East Theatre at Manchester Metropolitan University, sponsored by the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies and the Long Nineteenth-Century Network.

“This wind is the plague-wind of the eighth decade of years in the nineteenth century; a period which will assuredly be recognized in future meteorological history as one of phenomena hitherto unrecorded in the courses of nature”

Storm-Cloud: Observations of the Sky [https://www.storm-cloud.online/] is a brooding and visually arresting performance. This contemporary staging of John Ruskin’s prophetic public lecture ‘Storm-Cloud of the Nineteenth Century’ (1884) is performed and directed by Dr Tom Payne, with motion design by Jake Goodall, photography by Becky Payne, original composition by David John Brady, illustration by Billy Hughes and Penny McCarthy, dramaturgical focus by Terry O’Connor, digital media production by Anne Doncaster and Richard Mather, and archival research by Ashley Gallant.

Ruskin’s controversial lecture highlighted the disastrous results of nineteenth-century industrialisation, the human role in climate change, and the effects of air pollution, ‘a plague-wind’, on our health. This unique version of Ruskin’s lecture introduces Storm-Cloud, an interdisciplinary arts-led programme of climate-focused research, performance, and exhibition, featuring Storm-Cloud: Thrown into Form, a powerful and immersive reimagining of Ruskin’s lecture that premiered at the G-Mill, Sheffield, for No Bounds Festival, and Storm-Cloud: Fragments in Connection, a 360 degree reimagining of the lecture performance, curated by Jake Goodall.

“Unflagging and absorbing” – Dark Mountain

“Dynamic and captivating” – Now Then Magazine

Storm-Cloud: Observations of the Sky has been developed with support from Sheffield Theatres. The Storm-Cloud programme is led by Dr Tom Payne in partnership with Sheffield Museums, Sheffield Hallam University, The Guild of St. George and a wide network of international partners. Storm-Cloud is receiving ongoing mentoring from Tim Etchells, Artistic Director, Forced Entertainment.

Get involved with the live brief: sign up for the follow-on workshop at 4 pm

Students, researchers, artists, and members of the public can get involved in the Storm-Cloud project through Impressions of the Matter, an international collaborative live-brief that invites creative responses. There will be a workshop following the performance where attendees can learn more about the live brief. Please sign up for the workshop here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/storm-cloud-observations-of-the-sky-workshop-with-tom-payne-tickets-1838417729919?aff=oddtdtcreator

Further details can be found here: https://www.storm-cloud.online/impressions-of-the-matter

Dr Tom Payne:

Dr Tom Payne SFHEA, FRSA is Senior Lecturer and Course Leader at Sheffield Hallam University and Director of Moot Works, a studio focused on climate, place, and participatory performance. A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Tom’s work sits at the intersection of ecological performance, civic engagement, and higher education. -https://www.drtompayne.co.uk/

Photography by Becky Payne

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Host or Publisher The Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies