“You Must Change your Life” Rilke, Rodin & Gwen John

Must Change Your Life celebrates the centenary of Rainer Maria Rilke’s death and the 150th anniversary of Gwen John’s birth. 

Just after the turn of the last century, Paris was the epicentre of artistic creativity in Europe – home to composers such as Debussy and Ravel, painters Cezanne and Matisse and perhaps the most famous of them all; Auguste Rodin, considered to be the founder of modern sculpture. 

Into Rodin’s orbit came the young Austrian born poet Rainer Maria Rilke, fervent admirer of Rodin and soon to become his secretary and Augustus John’s brilliant sister Gwen – a noted artist in her own right who was Rodin’s life model and lover, and Rilke’s friend for life.

Noted actor Roy Marsden will narrate and take us back to the belle époque with the help of [x & x] who will perform songs and piano works by Debussy and his friend Erik Satie, as well as new settings of Rilke’s poems, specially composed for this event by Tony Britten, who has also written the script.