Imagine going to the cinema and becoming part of a pop-up orchestra who create every single sound FX and the musical score! The Enchanted Cinema’s new touring project, The Orchestra of Enchanted Sounds, invites kids and their grown-ups to join a pop-up orchestra playing unusual, delightful and ingenious instruments from a festoon-lit table to bring to life scenes from much-loved animation including Studio Ghibli’s My Neighbour Totoro, Where the Wild Things Are, Lotte Reineger’s 1926 The Adventures of Prince Achmed and seasonal favourite The Snowman.

Sound FX include a creaking porch, a river, magical chimes for a giant tree, a tinkling bell for Totoro’s whiskers, or the roars and eyeballs of Maurice Sendak’s Wild Things (you may well ask) and much, much more. We may even invite grown-ups to recreate Totoro’s snoring or Lotte Reineger’s shape-shifting vulture. 

Every child gets a chance to be involved if they choose to, with older kids rising to the challenge of playing the xylophone or narrating the Wild Things animation live and younger ones delighting in the “cicada” shakers or “tree-frog” guyros. 

The atmosphere is very inclusive and light-hearted and each show also features a live musical score by The Enchanted Cinema. The animated films are suitable for ages 4+.  

The Orchestra of Enchanted Sounds Tour is funded by the National Lottery. 

The Cabinet of Living Cinema is an organisation dedicated to providing participatory live cinema events which explore the heritage of film, literature, fine art, poetry and the heritage of landscape, which provides an environment for musicians, illustrators and filmmakers to collaborate, develop their skills and experiment, which supports organisations and bodies that promote, protect and explore the heritage as listed above. As such, our organisation does not have the aim of making profit.

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Fiona Fey

Fiona is a multi-instrumentalist and solo artist who performs with a variety of acclaimed ensembles including The Mediaeval Baebes, Nueva and Tell Tale Tusk. She has performed her solo material at many notable events and venues such as the Union Chapel, Glastonbury Festival and Broadstairs Folk Week.

Kieron Chissik

Kieron is Creative Director of Cabinet and collaborates on all scores with Cabinet perfomer/composers. He has worked as a live cinema practitioner with Paper Cinema and Secret Cinema and as a theatre composer with Alexander Zeldin amongst other directors.

Gareth Wilkins

Gareth started off his musical training as a classical and jazz pianist, then explored the world of community music. His interest with lady Harp spans two worlds; the folk tradition and spiritual practice, he has dedicated years to travelling across Britain, learning from the masters of the tradition. Gareth now brings to the fold Jazz recorder, English Concertina and the Northumbrian Pipes. Gareth & Kieron co-lead The Enchanted Cinema. 

Camilo Tirado

Camilo is the Cabinet’s percussionist who will be helping to create the rich tapestry of live effects in the scores as well as performing on his tablas. He is part of experimental sound/ambient group Pataphysical and has toured with the likes of Talvin Singh.

Reuben Tyler-Wilkinson

Emerging creative Reuben tours with the Cabinet as narrator, spoken word artist and workshop leader (see Dorset Events)

Hannah Eaton

Graphic novelist Hannah is the Cabinet and Enchanted Cinema illustrator and workshop leader including with Heritage projects Visionary Boscombe and Grey Owl on the Western Front. She is co-devising The Enchanted Cinema The Tree workshop day in 2023.