When Reif Larsen arrived in St Andrews in August 2014 to become the university’s new international writer in residence, it was his mission to encourage the growth of contemporary even avant-garde culture in the historic town.
The author, who wrote the bestselling novel The Young & Prodigious TS Spivet which was turned into a film by Amelie director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, said he’d like Fife to become synonymous with artistic experimentation and for St Andrews to be seen as a retreat for contemporary writers and musicians to work on new forms.
Now, three months after he launched a new experimental series of ‘in conversation’ style events pairing leading musicians with writers, Reif is pleased with the way the ‘Soundings’ series is going and is looking forward to the second instalment next week.
Following on from November’s launch which saw songstress PJ Harvey appear alongside Irish poet Paul Muldoon, Wednesday February 17’s event at the Byre Theatre will see novelist Michel Faber (Under the Skin, The Book of Strange New Things) in conversation with one of the UK’s pre-eminent composers, Tansy Davies.
The programme will feature Mr Faber reading from an unpublished novel beneath projections of his own drawings and a world premiere of one of Ms Davies’s new pieces, which will be performed by students. The two will then sit down to discuss the commonalities and divergences between music and literature, the act of taking risks in a risk-adverse world, and everything in between.
Reif said: “The first event in November exceeded all expectations, and in actual fact, many people said it was one of the best things they had ever seen at the Byre. It felt spontaneous and there was a lot of energy on stage.
“The idea is to pair together internationally-renowned figures from the worlds of music and literature that are spiritually or creatively influenced by one another.
“I’m very excited about this next one. It’s going to be very different in that there will be a whole chunk of performance, an intermission and then the conversation part.”
Tansy Davies is a musician whose boundary-crossing curiosity makes her one of the most distinctive voices in British music today. Filled with sounds of cracking, slapping, whipping and scraping, it is music that is utterly contemporary, inhabiting the same urban landscape as industrial techno and electronica.
Michel Faber has written eight books. In addition to the Whitbread-shortlisted Under the Skin, he is the author of the highly acclaimed The Crimson Petal and the White, The Fire Gospel and The Fahrenheit Twins. He has also written two novellas, The Hundred and Ninety-Nine Steps and The Courage Consort.
Reif added: “I hope this will help the Byre become known for its leading cutting edge performances.”
* Soundings: with Tansy Davies and Michel Faber is at the Byre Theatre, St Andrews, on Wednesday February 17
www.byretheatre.com