Page 432 - Aldeburgh Festival 2022 FINAL COVERAGE BOOK

Richard Burkhard as Felix and Andrew Mackenzie-Wicks (right) as The
Clockkeeper (Photo: Marc Brenner)

Cohesive costume and set design by Cecile Tremolieres and Rosie Elnile gave
the drama an Elizabethan feel with judicious use of trestle tables, ruffs, and
tankards.

It was a compelling watch in part down to the manually updated display
board documenting the days completed and hours lost, building tension and
driving towards the world’s inevitable end. Composer Tom Coult’s
characteristically inventive and descriptive score, played by the London
Sinfonietta and conducted by Andrew Gourlay, sustained a sinister air
throughout the 90-minute production.

In particular, the extensive use of pizzicato bass and low bass clarinet by Coult
was a pleasing addition to an already rich and inventive score, reminiscent of
Dudley Simpson’s resourceful use of chamber ensemble in his Doctor Who TV
music scores in the mid-70s.