Eye to Eye

‘You know, everybody in the world used to be a child, or is a child.’

After craving music during pregnancy, writer and theatre-maker Sheila Hill embarked on a quest to make a work about motherhood. Sheila’s diaries, from the first seven years of her son’s life, are the starting point for this extraordinary musical collaboration. 

Eye to Eye brings together two quite different soundworlds: the infinitely controlled and refined chordal progressions of composer Howard Skempton, and the music of jazz trumpeter/composer Byron Wallen and his dazzling band, Four Corners. 

They will perform alongside soloist Melanie Pappenheim, and a 100-strong chorus of women and children trained by Glyndebourne.

From the vulnerabilities of pregnancy, and the shock of birth, through the adjustment to school and society, and on to early autonomy, Eye to Eye explores the elemental story of mother and child.

Watch: A behind-the-scenes glimpse of the chorus and jazz meeting for the first time at Glyndebourne

Watch: The performers making final preparations during rehearsals at Brighton Dome Concert Hall

Watch: A final look at what to expect from Eye to Eye

Sheila Hill writer/director 
Howard Skempton composer (chorus) 
Byron Wallen composer (jazz)
Byron Wallen's Four Corners featuring Rob Luft (guitar), Paul Michael (bass), Rod Youngs (drums), Byron Wallen (trumpet)
Sian Edwards conductor 
Melanie Pappenheim soloist 
Jean Kalman lighting designer 
Curious Space designers 
Joanna Tomlinson chorusmaster
Laura Caldow movement director
Hugo Glendinning photography/videography

Read our interview with Sheila Hill ahead of the performance.