Brand New Ancients

… it’s hard to be an angel until you’ve been a demon

Adapted by Florence Espeut-Nickless for a 20-person cast, Brand New Ancients is Kae Tempest’s swirling, award-winning epic, told through the pulsating poetry and music, where the lives of ordinary people are illuminated with the power of the gods.  

In the clamorous sprawl of a city, two families become entangled through love, betrayal and survival. A pair of divided half-brothers, Clive, drawn into crime and anger, and Tommy, a comic-loving dreamer, converge in a moment of violence, whilst a courageous act of mythic defiance recalls the most potent stories of legend. 

In this world – our world – Tempest shows us that the most ancient myths are living truths, echoing through our everyday struggles with love, loneliness, violence and hope.  

 Part gig-theatre, part spoken-word performance, the world premiere of this adaptation is performed by graduating students of Bristol School of Acting and invites us to see ourselves as modern heroes in an eternal tale, where the sacred and the everyday collide. 

By Kae Tempest 
Adapted by Florence Espeut-Nickless 
Directed by Denzel Westley-Sanderson 
Design & Lighting by Hugo Dodsworth 
Sound & Music by Daniel Jarvis 
Costumes by Rhi Good