AUTUMN IN MALVERN
This remarkable new production invites audiences to encounter the music and legacy of Edward Elgar through a powerful and unexpected lens.
Elgar at the Asylum is a promenade performance that moves between multiple spaces at Malvern Theatres: cinema, studio, foyers and gallery, turning the whole building into an immersive experience. It draws on Elgar’s early career as a young composer, when he was commissioned to write music for patients at the Worcester County Pauper and Lunatic Asylum, later known as Powick Hospital. This formative yet often overlooked chapter becomes the starting point for a bold and moving reimagining.
Created by The Monday Night Club in collaboration with C&T and a host of artistic collaborators including Dancefest and Vamos Theatre, the production places learning disabled artists at its centre. Their perspectives reshape Elgar’s story through performance, music, and contemporary storytelling, exploring themes of identity, care, and creative voice.
Developed through an ambitious process of co-creation, the work balances reverence with innovation. It honours the emotional depth of Elgar’s music while opening new interpretations of cultural heritage, asking who has the right to tell these stories. Visually striking and emotionally resonant, Elgar at the Asylum offers a rare opportunity to experience a familiar figure anew. It is both a tribute and a provocation—inviting us to listen differently, and to recognise the richness of voices too often unheard.
Ages 15+: Includes options for audiences to choose to access archival film footage and historical content from the asylum system.
