May 11 - May 12, 2012

On Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12, Camerata Xara Young Women’s Choir will present WAIL: Songs of the Brier Island Siren, a haunting tale of the classic siren myth based in Nova Scotia. WAIL is a full-length piece of choral theatre that imagines the life of the mythical sirens who live on the shores of Nova Scotia’s Brier Island. Xara’s artistic duo, Christina Murray and Claire Leger, devised the show by combining ancient cross-cultural lore about Sirens with the true story of Joshua Slocum, native Brier Islander and first man to circumnavigate the world alone. WAIL tells the story of a group of Sirens and their relationship with young Joshua as he dealt with his difficult childhood and prepared for a life as a sailor. In Xara’s imagination of this story, Joshua's years playing with the sirens on Brier Island made him immune to their lure elsewhere as he sailed around the world. “Most siren myths paint these creatures as evil seductresses without any story of their own,” says Murray. “As a performance group of women, we wanted to explore what might have made the sirens sad or angry enough to spend their lives luring sailors to their death with their songs.” The role of Joshua is played by valley actor, Alan Slipp. Joshua’s voice will weave through choral selections, including works by Samuel Barber, Jeff Enns, Bob Chilcott, and young Nova Scotia composer Ben Duinker. Twenty Xara performers will sing and move as the sirens who have fallen from sky to shore. The show also includes a beautiful lighting design by Matthew Downey. Xara’s WAIL will be performed on Friday, May 11th as part of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic’s Flagship Friday series. In addition, the choir will stage a second show on Saturday, May 12 in the same venue. Tickets are $20 (adult) and $10 (student) available at www.xara.ca and at the door. For more information please contact Tenille Goodspeed at info@xara.ca Flagship Fridays is an initiative through the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic that provides a venue and events to showcase Nova Scotia talent through historical and contemporary arts and culture in reflecting aspects of Maritime culture.