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Available onlinePaintings are given elastic life in this energetic showcase, which reimagines the collection’s extraordinary wartime evacuation to a Welsh slate mine
Hottest front-room seats: the best theatre and dance to watch online
In a historical case of confinement at a time of crisis, paintings from the National Gallery were evacuated to a Welsh slate mine in 1941 to keep them safe from Luftwaffe bombs. Winged Bull in the Elephant Case dramatises the journey of one of those paintings. Directed by photographer Robin Friend and choreographed by Wayne McGregor, this 30-minute film – first broadcast in 2018 – tours the gallery and mine to reveal a collection of artists performing among the canvases and slate.
There’s a semblance of story buried in there somewhere, but it has the feel of someone listing an eclectic assortment of people they’d like to work with and giving everyone a slot, whether ballet legend Alessandra Ferri, poet Isaiah Hull or pianist Joanna MacGregor, who plays Beethoven in a nod to the wartime concerts that took place at the gallery. Continue reading...