NEWS: Ballad Of A Changing World @ Cobalt Studios

Ballad Of A Changing World is a 55-minute film made during lockdown by Norwegian cellist Maja Bugge and pianist Sarah Nicholls, which will be screened at Cobalt Studios on Friday 27^th May. Intended to be an immersive wake up call on the urgency of the climate crisis, it features interviews with scientists in both Newcastle and Norway, interrupted by the sometimes hilarious attempts to make a music show in lockdown.

While the news might be currently preoccupied with other world threatening stories, we should not forget that still looming over us is the destruction of our planet from the ongoing climate crisis. Something, I believe, might’ve lost its punch. So, reread that first sentence – “the DESTRUCTION of OUR PLANET”. It should be scary.

The film is intended to re-ring the alarm bells on the subject matter, with a focus on how the planet is changing; bringing the plight of local wildlife, such as the Quayside’s kittiwakes, into sharp focus, as they change their current migration due to global warming. In the film, poetic moments mingle with musical elements, with an overall hopeful atmosphere.

The screening will also feature what’s certain to be an insightful Q&A with the artists and Dr Helen Wilson from Durham University.

Ballad Of A Changing World is screened at Cobalt Studios, Newcastle on Friday 27^th May.