A special one-off screening of Georgina Starr’s THEDA with live accompaniment by the German soprano Sigune von Osten, takes place at the Pier Theatre, Bournemouth on Saturday 8 October at 8pm. Part of Bournemouth Arts by the Sea Festival which runs from 3 September to 15 October. Georgina Starr is well known for her large-scale art installations and films. Her major works create complex and emotional narratives inspired by loss or fragile phenomena. Over the last 20 years Starr has exhibited widely internationally, including exhibitions at Tate Gallery in London, Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Venice Biennale.
The film critic Jonathan Romney wrote, “Starr runs through the codified expressive reportoire of the Theda-era performer with such precision that any ironic distance evaporates. The poster for THEDA shows a séance, and indeed Starr makes herself the medium. Through her playful and tender homage the silent goddesses speak again.”THEDA (duration: 40 mins) is a critically acclaimed film performance inspired by a photograph of a woman who bore an uncanny resemblance to her mother. The woman transpired to be Theda Bara (1885 – 1955), one of the great silent film actress. Bara made over 40 films in her brief career. Now all but two are lost or destroyed. THEDA, filmed and performed by Starr, is an elaborate portrait in which the artist imagines and reinvents the lost film performances. Starr chose the Bournemouth Pier Theatre as a perfect setting for this unique work, only ever presenting THEDA at cinema and theatre venues that she feels are relevant to the piece. Of all the venues it has been shown in around the world including in London, New York, Toronto and Berlin, Starr said, “The Pier Theatre is a really perfect setting to present this work. The history and the spirit of the location echo many of themes within THEDA”. On this occasion Starr has invited the musician and soprano Sigune von Osten to create a special composition to the accompany the film. Von Osten has worked with such such renowned composers as John Cage and Luigi Nono. This is the UK premiere of her unique composition. Advance tickets for THEDA are £5.00 and are available from: www.artsbournemouth.org.uk/festivaltickets
or 0844 576 4500. | 
