The Epic of Everest - Talk, Performance & 100th Anniversary film screening

To mark the centenary of the release of The Epic of Everest the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery UK Trust is staging a special screening of the British Film Institute’s restoration of the film (with an audio soundtrack recreating the1924 score) at Salisbury Medieval Hall, introduced by acclaimed author Mick Conefrey and featuring a live prologue of Tibetan music by the Monks of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery.

In 1924, Captain John Noel’s classic documentary film The Epic of Everest captured the Edwardian adventure of the second Mount Everest summit attempt during which British Mountaineers George Mallory and Sandy Irvine tragically lost their lives.

To promote the release of the film one hundred years ago, Captain Noel arranged to bring six Buddhist monks from Gyantse Monastery in Tibet to Europe for the first time. The monks performed a prologue of Tantric music and chants when the film premiered in London, Paris and Berlin before undertaking a national tour of UK Cinema halls in 1925.

The visit of the monks generated widespread press coverage at the time, and they made a number of radio broadcasts for the fledgling BBC radio network as audiences in the 1920s, gripped by Tibetmanaia and legends of a forbidden kingdom of snow, Lamas, Shangri-La and Yetis were astounded by the sights and sounds of Tibetan Buddhism.

A diplomatic incident, referred to as ‘The Affair of the Dancing Lamas’ ensued between the UK and Tibet when news of the performances at London's New Scala Theatre reached the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, and it transpired the monks had not been granted permission to perform in the west. Further attempts by the British to climb Mount Everest were banned by the 13th Dalai Lama for nearly a decade and debate over the fate and legend of Mallory and Irvine continues to this day.

The Epic Of Everest

Certificate: U

Directed by John Noel (UK 1924)

Black and White silent fim with Intertitles

87 mins

Screened under licence from the British Film Institute

Please note the version of 'The Epic of Everest' we will be screening at Medieval Hall features a soundtrack recreating the original 1924 score, directed by Professor Julie Brown, rather than the Simon Fisher Turner soundtrack.

Recording performed by the Cambridge Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Gourlay.

Mick Conefrey

Mick Conefrey is an award-winning writer and documentary maker. He made the landmark BBC series Mountain Men, Icemen and The Race for Everest to mark the 60th anniversary of the first ascent. His previous books include Everest 1922, Everest 1953, the winner of a LeggiMontagna award, The Last Great Mountain, the winner of the Premio Itas in 2023, and The Ghosts of K2, which won a US National Outdoor Book award.

His book, Fallen: George Mallory: The Man, The Myth and the 1924 Everest Tragedy was published this year by Allen & Unwin and Mick was a guest speaker at the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery Trust's event 'Everest and the Dancing Lamas of Tibet' at the Royal Geographical Society in June 2024.

The Tashi Lhunpo Monks

Founded in Tibet by the First Dalai Lama in 1447, Tashi Lhunpo Monastery was renowned for its scholarship of Mahayana philosophy and the Tantric tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Following the Chinese invasion of Tibet, twenty elderly monks from Tashi Lhunpo fled religious persecution and undertook a perilous trek across the Himalayas to India, where the Monastery was re-established in exile in the early 1970s. Fifty years on, Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in India is now home to over 400 monks and is once again becoming one of the most important centres of Buddhist learning.

Over the years the Monks have appeared at Glastonbury, WOMAD, The Royal Opera House and been frequent visitors to the Edinburgh Fringe. The Monks have also released a number of critically-acclaimed albums including Dawn Till Dusk (2008), Time of the Skeleton Lords (2010), Wisdom & Insight (2012) and Calm Abiding (2019).

www.tashi-lhunpo.org.uk

Salisbury Medieval Hall

Please be aware that wheelchair access is limited at Salisbury Medieval Hall. For more information please call 07595 228516.

If wheelchair access is required, please let us know at least 24 hours before the start of the event and please plan to arrive at least 10 minutes before doors open. Please be aware that it is not possible to access the venue loos with a wheelchair.

www.salisburymedievalhall.com

Host or Publisher Tashi Lhunpo Monastery UK Trust