Those of you who have read The Snow Witch will be aware that the lead character, Donitiza who also is in our story, plays the violin and comes from the Balkans in Eastern Europe. When we started the research for the project the musical element of the story was one of the first areas we explored and very enjoyable it was too. We went to see a number of traditional Balkan bands and there was a lot of dancing and it was a lot of fun. I hadn’t quite realised that drinking and dancing could be considered proper research but apparently, it is.

We were lucky enough to encounter Gundula Gruen, an extremely talented and versatile expert on Balkan traditional music early on in our travels. We rocked up at a dance she had organised one dark winter night under a church in Borough, London. We didn’t know anyone there and sat down to enjoy the night. What a treat, such fantastic music and great dancing. Everyone made us really welcome and it felt as though we had found some great musicians to work with.

Gundula Gruen is a virtuoso violinist and singer who has travelled extensively, transcribing melodies that she learned first-hand from Romani and folk musicians. Holding a master’s degree in Ethnomusicology, her research focussed on Macedonian music. As a performer, arranger and composer, she works with her group Tatcho Drom touring around the UK. She also runs the Balkan Village Band, a workshop orchestra that gives musicians from all sorts of backgrounds the opportunity to learn and play music from Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

After bumping into Gundula at Balabam (a world music venue in north London now sadly closed) and sending her numerous emails we finally managed to meet. Sitting in a strange little café somewhere in North Acton we pitched the idea for the story to her and sat back to get her reaction. Needless to say, Gundula was taken by the idea and having read the book we sent her, she was keen to develop the character of Donitza. Since coming on board Gundula has bought a huge amount of expertise and insight to the project. It is safe to say that she has grounded the story with a wonderful take on the way we could fuse music and dance to bring our story to a conclusion. However, if you want to see how all this works out, you are going to need to buy a ticket!

You can watch a very badly filmed clip we shot of The Balkan Village Band playing their first gig of the year at the Brixton Ritzy back in May. It was a great night and we were really impressed at the quality of the music and the passion of the players. We are really looking forward to working with everyone from the band and especially with Gundula.

The Balkan Village Band will be playing as part of the finale for Cursed City – Dark Tide at Groundlings Theatre on 9^th November. Gundula is currently rehearsing a specially devised set for them featuring Dontiza, played by Hana Maria (see the previous post). Expect lots of dancing, inspirational music and an exciting end to the story.

When we initially had the idea for the Cursed City – Dark Tide project, over a year ago now, we tested some ideas through social media. We asked people who had read The Snow Witch novel if we brought this story to life what should we include in the telling. A number of people said they wanted to see Dontiza, the protagonist from the novel playing the violin.

And that is just what we have done!

Finding someone to take on the role of Dontitza was always going to be a challenge as we needed someone who could play the violin to a very high standard and who would also have the right kind of attitude to take on the role. After all, this is going to be immersive theatre and the person taking the part will need to have some real presence to carry it off.

In the end, we found a very talented musician to take on the part. In fact, we ended up kind of stalking her on social media after someone made a recommendation. Our initial approaches didn’t seem to get a response and then she made contact through a completely random channel without even knowing we had been trying to get in touch. Clearly, providence, or perhaps the work of another of the characters from the story, Lissitch our puppet master. But more on him later.

So, we are pleased to say that we have our Donitza, she will be played by an amazing musician from Brighton who not only plays classically but also fronts a number of bands as singer and fiddle player. And not folk bands either! Hana Maria has an extensive social media presence and I am sure you can easily find her work online. From fronting power punk bands as Hana Pirahna to more experimental videos which you can see on her Youtube channel. The video below is just one of many to choose from on the channel and I love the video overlay of her playing all the parts.

Right now, Hana is working with our musical director to learn some tunes for the story. These will all be Balkan traditional music, so we have set her a bit of a challenge. Keep your eyes open for her as Donitza as we will have her busking around Portsmouth very soon. If you spot her and share a photo or video with us on the Facebook page for Cursed City – Dark Tide there will be a couple of free tickets to the finale on 9^th November.

Watch this space for more info.