In June 2019 we publicised a fascinating project researching and dramatising the Sephardi Jewish heritage in England, which was to culminate in a site-responsive performance at the Novo Cemetery in east London.

Thomas Kampe, its director, now gives us an update on the blossoming of this project into a magnificent multi-layered, deeply researched, and imaginatively presented piece of work.

“I am delighted to announce the launch of the Online Media Resource – a digital tour guide – ONE LOST STONE which I directed for Pascal Theatre Company’s Lottery Heritage funded project ‘Discovering & Documenting England’s Lost Jews’ over the last two years.
https://www.lostjews.org.uk/oneloststone/

ONE LOST STONE was initially designed as an immersive performance event – a choreographic guided tour – around the Sephardi Novo Cemetery in Mile End, London, inviting audiences into a participatory journey inspired by Sephardi legacies in England.

Due to the changing pandemic circumstances I revisioned this project as a performative multi-media resource – a digital travel guide – inspired by Sephardi heritage in England. It invites participants to access writings, dramatic directed audio podcasts, visual collages, videos, sound compositions – and paintings by artist Anne Sassoon –  opening out a poetic and entangled world of inter-cultural discovery and documentation.

The project involves professional actors, historians and heritage researchers, students and graduates of Bath Spa University, sound designers and volunteer participants.

The poetically layered material produced for this project gives voice to the disenfranchised, the poor and to women. It has been a privilege to layer our texts with Anne Sassoon’s artwork. These beautifully raw and starkly atmospheric paintings are balanced with collaged graphics and videos which give a distinct identity to each page. Anne Sassoon also has a gallery page of her own paintings.

The website offers a multi-facetted resource for contemplation in evocative, thought-provoking and often entertaining ways.

Each page has a central focus of a summary text accompanied by a recorded spoken version and there are satellite recordings and contextual pages with more information. It is advised to perhaps visit one or a few pages a time, and then to return to another ‘chapter’.

With that in mind I hope that you find the experience of navigating through ONE LOST STONE a timely poetic monument to a nearly forgotten history. Enjoy your journeys across the site.”

Thomas Kampe July 2020

ONE LOST STONE
Sephardi Heritage in England -a digital travel guide
Artistic Direction, Concept & Visuals: Thomas Kampe
Dramaturgy & Text Direction: Julia Pascal
Producer: Susannah Kraft Levene
Compositions & Sound Design: Ronen Kozokaro
Paintings: Anne Sassoon
Historical Research: Stéphane Goldstein & Sally Mijit
Assistant Director: Matt Emeny
Web Support: Frog Morris
Online Marketing: Natalie Beech

Actors: Tiran Aakel, Atilla Akinci, Jessica Claire, Norma Cohen,  Tiago Gambogi, Max Griffiths, Anna Gillian Harris, John Hansler, Ags Irvin, Ruth Lass, Fiz Marcus, David Ricardo-Pearce, Miguel Ron, Xavier de Santos,Anna Savva, Delicia Sefiha, Ruth D’Silva, Peter Silverleaf, Roger Sloman, Saria Steyl, Sam de la Torre.

Oral Histories: Haim Algranati, Nadia Arditti, Ralf Arditti, Raya Brody, Ronen Kozokaro, Maisie Meyer, Sylvia Manassah, Alec Nacamuli, Guy Sasson, David Tachauer.

ONE LOST STONE workshop performers: Tiran Aakel, Deborah Beale,Rob Bellamy, Jasmine Chiswell, Fraser Clark, Norma Cohen, Caitlin Daly, Seer Dindial, Sam Edwards,  Maeve Elmore, Odette Gaba, Isidore Gaba, Anne Goldstein, Jess Hatton,Laura Higgins,  Pablo Laguna, Julia Langley, Gabrielle Levy, Fiz Marcus, Billie-Jo Rainbird, Zoe Reeve, Aso Sherabayani, Clare Shinebourne, Ruth D’Silva, Saria Steyl, Astrid Swenson, Mattea Thomas-Gray.