Ten Plagues - a lockdown production by the Belfast Ensemble

Originally created for the theatre, this bold new film version marks the Ensemble’s first work during the Covid-19 pandemic and is filmed in locked-down Belfast.

Written by Mark Ravenhill and Conor Mitchell, Ten Plagues traces one man's journey through a city in crisis, charting the great plague of 1665, London.

Originally produced in 2011 and performed by Marc Almond, this version of the Edinburgh Fringe award-winning work with Belfast singer Matthew Cavan was redeveloped by Belfast Ensemble for Outburst in 2018. Part cabaret torch songs, part Schubert, Ten Plagues draws parallels with the 20th century emergence of AIDS, but here takes on a breathtaking 2020 significance.

Ten Plagues follows the huge success of Abomination: A DUP Opera (Winner, Best Opera at the Irish Times Theatre Awards) and was filmed with a skeleton crew and in compliance with social distancing measures.

Performed by Matthew Cavan and Conor Mitchell. 
Composed by Conor Mitchell
Libretto by Mark Ravenhill
Directed by Nicky Larkin. 
Produced by the Belfast Ensemble in association with Outburst Arts.

Belfast Ensemble

Making work since 2017, the Belfast Ensemble is one of the most dynamic voices on the Irish/UK stage. Taking their name from the city they call home, they make work with Belfast artists of several disciplines working towards a single vision: cutting edge music-theatre that reflects our world around us NOW.

Composer

A multi award-winning opera/theatre composer, librettist and stage director, Conor Mitchell is unique in his field, working towards a vision of ‘total theatre’ through contemporary musical performance. His music blends the worlds of stage design with contemporary visual arts and finds new ways to engage his audience through socially relevant, politically charged subjects. He is the recipient of the Arts Council Northern Ireland Major Individual Artist’s Award - the highest honour bestowed by the agency - and a life fellow of the Arts Foundation for composition. Known as much for his opera and music-theatre canon as his contemporary work, his pieces are regularly performed outside of Ireland. Recent work includes the Rome, Holland, Edinburgh, Aldeburgh, New York festivals as well as productions across Europe and the UK. 

Writer

Mark Ravenhill is one of the most distinctive contemporary UK playwrights. He burst on to the theatre scene in 1996 with the huge hit Shopping and Fucking. He has continued to garner critical acclaim for plays that include Some Explicit Polaroids, Mother Clap's Molly House, Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat, The Cut, Product, pool (no water), Citizenship, Ten Plagues, The Coronation of Poppea, Candide, Faust is Dead, Handbag, A Life in Three Acts, A Life of Galileo and Over There.