Magnetic North’s We Will Hear the Angels Comes to An Tobar and Mull Theatre

Celebrating the paradox and power of sad music as uplifting, this poignant and tender production explores the strange state of melancholy. Performed by an ensemble of five actor-musicians - Apphia Campbell, Daniel Padden, Greg Sinclair, Mia Scott and Nicholas Bone - it includes an eclectic live score spanning Etta James, Hank Williams, J.S. Bach, Orange Juice and Moondog.

Inspired by works including the closing moments of Chekhov’s classic play Uncle Vanya about unfulfilled loss and quiet endurance, Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window and short stories by Katherine Mansfield, We Will Hear the Angels explores themes of heartbreak, loneliness and shared listening to turn its focus to the inner lives rarely shared.

Written and directed by Nicholas Bone, with co-direction and video design by Marisa Zanotti, design by Emily James, lighting design by Nigel Edwards and music direction by Daniel Padden, We Will Hear the Angels centres Bea’s discovery of her husband’s infidelity, leaving her adrift, unaware that her neighbours - Sonia, Van and Ian - are each quietly grappling with their own heartbreak too.
As their stories unfold, the mysterious Lou creates a space where music expresses what words cannot.

Praised by The Scotsman as ‘a mature and beautiful acknowledgement of loss and grief (★★★★) Nicholas Bone, Artistic Director of Magnetic North and Writer & Co-Director of We Will Hear the Angels, said:
‘We are delighted to be presenting We Will Hear the Angels at An Tobar and Mull Theatre, as part of the Scotland-wide tour in September and October.‘

The initial idea was inspired by the imagined inner lives of people in neighbouring tenements across Edinburgh - the shared yet unseen moments unfolding around us. We further developed the work during Covid over Zoom, each of us framed in our own small window, playing into the sense of intimacy and melancholy that influenced the form the show ultimately took.

Developed in Magnetic North’s signature cross-art-form process, We Will Hear the Angels is a poignant and celebratory exploration of the beauty and poetry of everyday individual lives, and the power and catharsis of melancholy music on such.’

Tickets are on sale now HERE