Michael Billington
Tuesday August 28, 2007
The Guardian
Keats hated poetry that "has a palpable design upon us." Personally, I've always liked art that declared its intentions. This hour-long music-theatre piece, composed by Rachel Portman to words by Owen Sheers, urgently calls on a younger generation to redeem the sins of its elders on the subject of climate change.
Another cultural reference, from the California Chronicle...
Former New Haven resident Jim Leonard wrote "The Diviners" almost 30 years ago, but ask him today what the deeper meaning of the play is and he says, "I don't know."
It starts with Simon Yates's two life-size tissue paper robots, styled on himself and his girlfriend, which wander erratically and forlornly through the gallery foyer, carrying divining rods as if trying to telepathically tune into each other