Artists   INFO   PROGRAMME   TICKETS

There is no right or wrong time to come and go. The programme is immersive and fluid, and something stimulating happens all the time. You can stay all afternoon and evening, or only come for a few hours. To make this possible, we have set the admission price for Odrathek to reflect the cost of a standard-duration concert ticket. Many of the performances at the festival are repeated, some are performed twice a day to open and close the event, and as part of Musarc’s ongoing practice with and for the audience. Performances that visitors can get involved in tend to happen mostly during the afternoon. Special solo performances centre on the evening. Look at the programme and read the programme notes to find out more. See ‘getting involved’ in this section to find out more about performances you can take part in.

Odrathek is an opportunity to hear Musarc and see the ensemble at work with different artists. Almost all performances are repeated, change, and evolve over the duration of the festival. Some are prepared, others are one-off happenings, listening exercises and workshops that occur only once and allow the audience to get involved in—singing, speaking or through movement. Odrathek, like it’s namesake is hard to get hold of and not complete and perfect. It is a new collaborative format for Musarc, blurring the lines between practice and performance. The choir will sing music from Debussy and Bach to new work created for the event, and close Odrathek with a performance of Tape Music. Visit the programme page for further information.

A series of solo performances by individual artists punctuate the programme. Benedict Drew will perform on Friday night. On Saturday evening, Esther Venrooij and Heleen van Haegenborgh will perform Mock Interiors for prepared piano and electronics, and Lore Lixenberg will sing songs from Purcell to Cage with accordeonist Bartosz Glowacki. Rie Nakajima will perform one of her object sets on Saturday. On both Saturday and Sunday Rebecca Jagoe will give a performative reading before the choir and the audience eat together. Check the programme for full details and programme notes on many of these performances.

Rezeptionshaltungen is a unique concert experience for performer and an audience of one. It is a haptic, theatrical performance in which Austrian composer Volkmar Klien assists a ‘recipient’ in assuming three defined positions [Haltungen] inside apparatuses that transduce sounds to the recipient’s body, played live by the artist. The audience at Odrathek can book individual sessions on the day to experience the performance, which lasts approx. 20 minutes. Ticket-holders can pre-book a session by emailing info@musarc.org. Read more about Volkmar Klien and watch a video here.

Several performances at Odrathek allow the audience to get involved. Edka Jarzab will work with the crowd in her readings. The choir will perform Any’s Responses by Neil Luck with the audience on Friday evening, on the occasion of the Bloody Sirens album launch. On Saturday and Sunday, visitors will be able to take part in Amina Nazari’s This is what you will see and hear, and Esther Veenrooij’s Gsätzli. On Sunday, Jakub Modrzejewski’s Olympiakos will challenge the audience to a sports performance, and Alex de Little’s Spatial Listening Games will allow you to explore space through hearing. On both Saturday and Sunday, the audience and the choir will eat together and perform PRÊT Â CHANTER — A Real Time Opera together, and finish the break with a Bach chorale.

Food at Odrathek is provided by Return to Shashamane. The vegan food stall will set up all day at Odrathek and offers a selection of delicious salads and warm dishes in wraps and boxes from £4–6. If you would like to help us ensure we don’t run out of food, please book tickets in advance. The bar opens at the same time as the doors and offers pilsner, IPA, and wine from £4–5. Water is provided free of charge.

The Workshop is situated in Lambeth, not far from Newport Street Gallery and the Garden Museum (4 minutes). It is approx. 13 minutes from Vauxhall and Lambeth North stations, 20 minutes walk from Waterloo or Westminster, and easy to reach by bus. For further details visit www.theworkshoplondon.com

The title Odratheque—Odradek, Odrathek (no fixed abode)—is inspired by a miniature by Franz Kafka, ‘The Cares of a Family Man’, and its central character, a contaption that speaks, is whole and yet a fragment, there and not there, by the name of Odradek. It’s easier to understand if read the text for yourself. It won't take more than a few minutes, and will leave you with in no doubt.

If you have booked a ticket for Saturday but find that you can't make, you are welcome to come the next day – or the other way round. If you already have a ticket and you would like to return, we can upgrade to an event pass.