The seven deadly sins are alive and kicking in contemporary Scotland.
They’re looking for something to do.
In Love the Sinner seven extraordinary characters struggle to comprehend their place in a world bladed with criticism and obsessed with self-betterment.
They seek solace, or something else, in the pulsing, brimming city as the water rises and the banks of the river threaten to burst.
The critically-acclaimed theatrical adaptation of Imogen Stirling’s poem cycle, Love the Sinner, directed by Vanishing Point’s Artistic Director, Matthew Lenton, will come to Eden Court as part of a nationwide tour.
The stage production of Love The Sinner is the culmination of a collaboration between poet/performer Imogen Stirling and leading Scottish theatre company, Vanishing Point.
The partnership began in 2022 when Imogen Stirling was one of Vanishing Point’s first Everyone is Creative recipients.
The ideas developed through this commission proved so exciting that they went on to conceive a vision for a “dark, dreamy, beautiful stage show” involving spoken-word, music, design, video and visual theatre.
Love The Sinner is a journey from darkness to light, where video traces a voyage through the nocturnal streets of the city, where images emerge from the darkness of this chiaroscuro, neon-lit world and where one storyteller embraces the pulsating city at night in a celebration of poetry and language, vibrantly musical and deeply visual.
The production features lyrics and vocals by Stirling with music by award-winning producer and songwriter Sarah Carton and additional music / live performance by Sonia Killmann.
The staging is conceived and directed by Matthew Lenton, with set & costume design by Alisa Kalyanova, video & projection by Ellie Thompson, lighting by Simon Wilkinson, and sound by Mark Melville.
“I’m absolutely delighted to be working with Vanishing Point to take Love The Sinner out on the road,” says Imogen Stirling.
“At heart, the show is a story about people – about what it means to feel alone and the power that connection can bring.
“The opportunity to share the show widely, taking it to exciting and varied spaces across the country, taps into the essence of bringing people together.
“I really can’t wait to get started.
“As part of our commitment to support new, existing and early career talent in Scotland, we introduced our Everyone is Creative programme in 2020.
“It was also a way of supporting freelance practitioners during the pandemic,” says Vanishing Point Artistic Director, Matthew Lenton.
“It had always been a hope that we could take some of the ideas forward and we were delighted to collaborate with Imogen to further develop Love the Sinner into a theatrical production.
“It is exciting to take the production out on the road visiting venues and reaching audiences across the country,” he adds.
The Love the Sinner tour is a co-production with Beacon Arts Centre and Shetland Arts, and is supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland
‘Unforgettable… a 70-minute ecstasy of words, sounds, light and brilliant design’
The Scotsman
‘An epic contemporary reimagining of biblical mythology… a full blown theatrical assault’
The Herald
“this new stage production of Love the Sinner with Scottish theatre company
Vanishing Point is transformative.”
The Stage
