St Mary's Perivale Events details

Sunday 3 November 3.00 pm

VENUS AND ADONIS
by Shakespeare
with music by Mendelssohn

Christopher Kent (actor)

Gamal Khamis (piano)

Acclaimed actor/pianist duo Christopher Kent and Gamal Khamis return for their ever-popular annual appearance at St Mary's, this time previewing the brand-new programme they have been commissioned to perform at the Shakespeare in Music festival in Stratford next year, featuring a complete performance of one of Shakespeare's most ravishing early solo works interspersed with selections from Mendelssohn's hauntingly beautiful Songs Without Words.

Shakespeare's sparkling narrative poem Venus and Adonis was written during 1592/93 when the theatres were closed due to plague. It is a witty, transformative and moving retelling of Ovid's classic tale, in which the goddess of love's desire to woo the most beautiful of the mortals and waylay him from hunting the deadly wild boar ultimately ends in tragedy.

Mendelssohn famously composed incidental music to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, to which Venus and Adonis, with its magical transformations and pastoral setting, is a clear precursor. His eight volumes of Songs Without Words were composed between 1829 and 1845 and achieved almost instant popularity during and after his short lifetime. Their lilting and poignant lyricism make them ideal companion pieces for Shakespeare's vivid story-telling, promising another rich and compelling recital in the beautiful setting of St Mary's Perivale.

Piano repertoire

Mendelssohn - Songs Without Words

Op 19b – Book 1 No 1 in E major
Op 102 – Book 8 No 5 in A major
Op 19b – Book 1 No 3 in A major
Op 102 – Book 8 No 4 in G Minor
Op 38 – Book 3 No 5 in A Minor
Op 53 – Book 4 No 5 in A Minor
Op 102 – Book 8 No 1 in E Minor
Op 67 – Book 6 No 5 in B Minor
Op 30 – Book 2 No 3 in E Major

The recital partnership between Christopher Kent and Gamal Khamis began in 2016 with Never Such Innocence , their acclaimed narrative recital of words and music from the First World War (described by BBC Radio 3 as “an incredibly moving performance”). It was followed in 2019 by Odyssey – Words and Music of Finding Home , with specially commissioned works by six award-winning contemporary poets and composers. In 2020 a livestreamed performance of Enoch Arden by Strauss/Tennyson from St Mary's Perivale was viewed globally and led to subsequent performances in London and around the UK, before being recorded as a critically-acclaimed CD/Streaming release by SOMM Recordings. An Exquisite Harmony – The Lives, Loves and Music of Robert & Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms followed in 2022, with performances continuing throughout the 2024/25 season. In 2025 they will premiere their new adaptation of Shakespeare's epic poem Venus and Adonis in Stratford with music by Mendelssohn.

Christopher Kent has appeared on stage, screen and radio in a wide range of roles from Shakespeare to contemporary drama. London theatre appearances have included Cyrano de Bergerac with Robert Lindsay at the Theatre Royal Haymarket and The Government Inspector with Timothy Spall at Greenwich Theatre. His live performances of epic story-telling and poetry, often from memory and in partnership with leading musicians, have been widely acclaimed. His regular recital partners include pianist Gamal Khamis and the Bridge String Quartet. Christopher is also one of the UK's leading voice actors and is regularly heard on commercials, documentaries, film trailers and literary recordings.

Described by The Times as a pianist with "formidable keyboard skills", Gamal Khamis first performed at the Wigmore Hall at the age of ten, and he has since appeared at Carnegie Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Sage Gateshead, as well as all over Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. He has won major prizes at the Royal Over-Seas League Music Competition and the Ferrier Awards and is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 3 In Tune. Recent engagements have included concertos by Rachmaninov and Robert Schumann with orchestras across the UK. Gamal was the inaugural Finzi Trust Scholar at Iain Burnside's Ludlow English Song Weekend in 2021, and he regularly performs at the Flatirons Chamber Music Festival in Colorado, USA. Gamal is a Samling Artist and a member of the award winning Lipatti Piano Quartet, and he has recently joined the RCM Junior Department as a Chamber Music coach.

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