Utopia comes to the Roundhouse

The multi-sensory piece, entitled Utopia, was imagined by award-winning director and filmmaker Penny Woolcock for the venue's annual Bloomberg Summer festival.

Taking over the entire main space, Utopia focusses on inequality, consumerism, housing, gentrification, education, crime and social media through real life stories.

To bring the piece to life, Penny spent many months uncovering the stories of Londoners from the most wildly diverse of backgrounds - from drug dealers, gang members, former offenders and sex workers to the homeless, the elderly, housewives and university graduates.

She collaborated with designers Block9 to create Utopia, which is named after Thomas More’s 16th century novel.

Utopia is peppered with narrative soundscapes that will reverberate with stories that are personal, political and pertinent to the parallel lives being lived in the world’s biggest cities.

Utopia is at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, Chalk Farm, until Sunday, August 23, a variety of times. Details: 0300 6789 222, roundhouse.org.uk

Bloomberg Summer at the Roundhouse, the annual festival dedicated to introducing new audiences to innovative culture has returned for a fourth year with UTOPIA, a ground-breaking installation by Penny Woolcock in collaboration with Block9. Taking over the entire Main Space, Utopia is a huge multi-sensory world focusing in on inequality, consumerism, housing, gentrification, education, crime and social media through real life stories.

The piece has been imagined by award-winning Director and Filmmaker Penny Woolcock. Woolcock’s curiosity and craft for storytelling underpins all her work and for Utopia, she spent many months uncovering the stories of Londoners from the most wildly diverse of backgrounds to reveal the hidden narratives of the city. Her work has regularly focused on social cohesion, leading her to collaborate with young inner-city gang members and street hustlers (1 Day, One Mile Away).

Designers Block9 (Stephen Gallagher and Gideon Berger), revered for their visually arresting, post-apocalyptic spectacles, worked closely with Woolcock to design a symbolic representation of her vision. Block9 are best known for creating extravagant fantasy worlds for Glastonbury Festival, often comprising of grand scale tower blocks, tenements and tube trains.

Named after Thomas More’s 16th century imagining of a self-contained world in which communities shared a common culture and way of life, Woolcock’s Utopia is based on a walk through the neighbourhood of the Roundhouse and the differing perspectives on reality that can offer. Utopia is peppered with narrative soundscapes that will reverberate with stories that are personal, political and pertinent to the parallel lives being lived in the world’s biggest cities. The stories have all been collected by Woolcock in interviews with residents across the social spectrum - from drug dealers, gang members, former offenders and sex workers to the homeless, the elderly, housewives and university graduates.

Utopia also involves contributions and close collaboration with participants from the Roundhouse’s creative programme for 11-25 year-olds. In 2014 Woolcock worked with young people to find and interview local Camden residents for Utopia and one of the participants has become a paid assistant on this project. Others have become some of the voices heard in the installation. Young people from across the programme will also perform at the installation's evening events which are still to be announced.

award winning filmmaker and artist Penny Woolcock who has imagined and developed Utopia. Woolcock’s work regularly collaborates with citizens from across the social spectrum to explore the notion of social cohesion. Her 1999 film Tina Goes Shopping, was a startling collaborative piece with the real residents of the Gipton estates in Leeds and her award-winning film One Mile Away, documented the lives of two separate gangs in Birmingham as they tried to make a truce over the postcode wars.

Ground breaking installation Utopia, designed by radical designers Block 9 (known especially for their Glastonbury post-apocalyptic spectacles) is Woolcock’s most recent exploration into society, community and culture. Woolcock spent many months uncovering the stories of Londoners from the most wildly diverse of backgrounds to reveal the hidden narratives of the city. Collecting stories in interviews with residents across the social spectrum - from drug dealers, gang members, former offenders and sex workers to the homeless, the elderly, housewives and university graduates, Utopia is an innovative experience which will allow audiences to travel on a metaphorical journey through a diverse neighbourhood of city life

Penny was actually raised in Uruguay but her work for Utopia has been developed around the area of Camden/North London. However, cutting edge designers Block 9 who are collaborating with Penny Woolcock to design and actualise Utopia are based in East London. Would you perhaps be more interested in an interview with them?

Block9 (Stephen Gallagher and Gideon Berger) are revered for their visually arresting, post-apocalyptic spectacles and are best known for creating extravagant fantasy worlds for Glastonbury Festival, often comprising of grand scale tower blocks, tenements and tube trains, an example of which you can view here. Recently, the pair designed the stage set for the Lana Del Ray US Tour and the Skrillex World Tour. For brand new installation Utopia, Block9 are working closely with Woolcock to design a symbolic representation of her vision.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Utopia: Until Sunday 23 August

Venue: Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, London, NW1 8EH

Box office: 0300 6789 222

Tickets: £10 (£5 GET IN for 16-25s) - ‘Pay What you Like’ every Tuesday

Website: roundhouse.org.uk

Age guidance: The installation includes stories and themes of an adult nature and is recommended for ages 14+

OPENING TIMES

Tuesday - Thursday Midday – 7pm

Friday Midday – 10pm

Saturday - Monday Midday – 9pm

Last entry 1 hour before closing time