Stars and Their Consolations – A Night Under Shared Skies💫
Last night at The Riverfront in Newport, audiences were invited to look up - not just at the ceiling of the theatre, but far beyond it, into the vast, myth-laden expanse of the night sky. Stars and Their Consolations, presented by Adverse Camber Productions and created by Daniel Morden, Hugh Lupton and Sarah Lianne Lewis, is not simply a performance; it is an act of remembering.
Morden, a storyteller of international renown, brings decades of experience shaped by global travels and an extraordinary repertoire that spans Greek myth, folklore and the delightfully absurd. Alongside him, Hugh Lupton - equally distinguished, with a career spanning over 35 years - offers a poetic and deeply human counterpoint. Together, they form a compelling duo whose delivery feels both ancient and immediate, as though the stories are being spoken into existence for the very first time.
At its heart, Stars and Their Consolations is a return to oral tradition. The performance draws on well-known Greek myths like Orion, Pegasus, the Pleiades, but it is not concerned with retelling them as static relics. Instead, these stories breathe. They shift and shimmer, carried by voice, rhythm and the subtle interplay between the two performers. There is no sense of distance here; the intimacy of the staging allows the audience to feel as though they are gathered around a fire, participating in something communal and deeply rooted. I was sat in the front row, the moment Morden and Lupton began to speak I was totally entranced.
“Two voices, a constellation of stories, and the enduring human need to find meaning in the stars.”
What elevates the experience further is the sonic landscape created by Welsh composer Sarah Lianne Lewis. Her electro-acoustic score is both haunting and expansive, echoing the vastness of the cosmos while grounding the stories in a tactile emotional reality. It never overwhelms; rather, it underpins the narrative, heightening moments of tension, wonder and reflection. Paired with delicate projected visuals of the night sky, the production achieves a quiet majesty — immersive without ever becoming overpowering.
Thematically, the piece explores humanity’s enduring need to understand itself through story. The myths presented are filled with gods who are capricious, passionate and often merciless. Reflections, perhaps, of our own complexities. Yet amid these tales of lust, pride and transformation, there is a persistent thread of consolation. The stars, fixed yet ever-changing in our perception, offer perspective. They remind us of continuity, of shared experience across generations.
This idea resonates strongly within the broader context of the production’s Welsh tour and its connection to the Cysur y Sêr project. While the performance draws primarily on Greek mythology, it subtly gestures toward the lost and fragmented storytelling traditions of Wales itself. The notion that landscapes, both terrestrial and celestial were once alive with narrative is a poignant one. In reconnecting audiences with the night sky, the production invites a reconsideration of what has been forgotten, and what might still be reclaimed.
There is also a timely environmental undercurrent. References to light pollution and the fragility of dark skies are woven gently into the wider project, never didactic but quietly urgent. The stars we look to for meaning are themselves under threat, a reality that lends the performance an added layer of significance.
“Stars and Their Consolations is, ultimately, a reminder of the power of storytelling in its purest form.”
There is also a timely environmental undercurrent. References to light pollution and the fragility of dark skies are woven gently into the wider project, never didactic but quietly urgent. The stars we look to for meaning are themselves under threat, a reality that lends the performance an added layer of significance.
At two hours, the piece demands attention, but it rewards it fully. This is not passive viewing; it is an experience that asks audiences to listen, to imagine and to feel. By the end, there is a discernible sense of having travelled, not just through myth, but through time and shared human memory.
Stars and Their Consolations is, ultimately, a reminder of the power of storytelling in its purest form. In an age saturated with digital noise, its simplicity feels radical. Two voices, a constellation of stories, and the enduring human need to find meaning in the stars.
And as the lights come up, one leaves with a quiet but profound awareness: we are all, still, under the same sky.
Further details about the project and tour, can be found at adversecamber.org
