Nora the Many is a film based on a novella of the same name, written collectively by Nora (dancers Stephanie McMann, Eleanor Sikorski, Flora Wellesley Wesley) and choreographer/performer Eleanor Bauer. It tells the story of Cindy’s Bar and its peculiar regulars: Divina the megalomaniacal performance artist, her child and faithful follower Tworden the Giant, Elba the Electric Child, and Tina the daydreaming bartender.

Zeena Parkins’ musical score and Bauer’s narration invite us on a non-linear trip through a multiverse of strange characters, with McMann, Sikorski and Wellesley Wesley’s dancing providing a polyphonic bed of rhythm and emotion. It is a surreal and humorous study of a tight knit group and the planet they live on: the vast, volatile body of a giant.

Thursday’s World Premiere screening will mark the release of the EP of the sound score composed by Zeena Parkins, pioneer of contemporary harp practices and Guggenheim Fellow (2019). There will also be a post-show talk following the screening with all of the collaborators, and a chance to get your copy of the novella: Nora the Many.

[Image description] Three white women in their thirties, sitting on a bench in front of a bar with the shutters down, look straight out at us. From left to right: Flora Wellesley Wesley, Stephanie McMann and Eleanor Sikorski. They express different styles, wearing, from left to right, a white shirt and grey jeans ripped at the knee, a red party dress, and a black dress.

Film Credits:
Nora the Many – A film by The Something Sithers
Concept: Eleanor Bauer
Writing: Eleanor Bauer, Eleanor Sikorski, Flora Wellesley Wesley, Stephanie McMann
Cinematography and Direction: Eleanor Sikorski, Flora Wellesley Wesley, Stephanie McMann
Starring: Eleanor Sikorski, Flora Wellesley Wesley, Stephanie McMann, Eleanor Bauer, Fox Gill-McMann
Sound recording and editing: Michael Picknett
Music: Zeena Parkins
Film editing: Eleanor Bauer

A Sadler’s Wells Commission. Coproduced by Nora and Stockholm University of the Arts. Supported by Arts Council England and South East Dance. Residency support from Chisenhale Dance Space, London and DanceEast, Ipswich.