Photo by Kathleen Holman.

The Dead by James Joyce, presented by the Fourth Choir – Wilton’s Music Hall, London

The combination of Justine Mitchell, reading an abridged version of James Joyce’s peerless story ‘The Dead’, and the Fourth Choir singing pieces interspersed into the text, is a remarkable success. This is partly because the singers are exceptionally good. Led by James Powse, they are a queer choir consisting partly of trained singers, partly amateurs. They must be as good as a choir with an amateur element can get. With around thirty singers performing in the intimate Wilton’s Music Hall – which is perfect for the piece – there is absolutely nowhere to hide, and they are flawless.

The singing is beautiful, and successfully connected to Joyce’s writing. ‘The Dead’ is underpinned by music, including discussions of choir politics and of the folk song ‘The Lass of Aughrim’, one of the pieces performed, and one of several arranged by Powse. These also include ‘Bid Adieu’, the only song written by Joyce – both words and tune. Christmas pieces are included, ‘The Dead’ being set at a Twelfth Night party. Justine Mitchell does an excellent job as the narrator, wearing a dark green period dress and looking thoroughly Edwardian.

However, the evening only works because its elements are so expertly stitched together by the director, Séamus Rea, who has also adapted the text. He creates small but effective interactions between the choir and Mitchell. They hand her the pages she reads from, and form an attentive party crowd. They occupy the stage in shifting patterns that create visual interest, and even their phone-lit entrance has a surprising impact. The whole evening, being concerned with continuing presence of the dead in the lives of the living, is unsurprisingly moving – and performed to a very high standard. As Mitchell and the choir cast their pages into the air, to fall like the snow that is general across Ireland, few dry eyes are left dry.