An Infinite Line: Brighton was commissioned by the 2008 Brighton Festival, as an exploration of and response to the quality of natural light in Brighton. The project was in three parts: a site-specific performance piece, an installation of 8mm cine films, and a book.

The performance

The performance of An Infinite Line: Brighton took place in a former print works in the centre of the city, in an underground space devoid of natural light. Rather than trying to recreate the light (why do this when the light itself is already so extraordinary?) the performance presented a series of images, soundscape, texts, actions and lighting events which combined to form a new visual landscape, one which evoked the sensual and subjective experience of the natural light, but didn’t describe it.

The installation

The installation for An Infinite Line: Brighton took place in the same space as the performance, during the day. It consisted of thirty 8mm cine projectors, projecting short films depicting the light falling on the natural and urban landscapes of Brighton. Ranging from the abstract (light as a wash of colour on the churning surface of the sea) to the literal (the mirror ball turning slowly on top of the pier) the films, projected onto blocks of chalk – like the chalk of the local cliffs – created a flickering and constantly changing environment of colour, light and sound.

The Book

Created in collaboration with book designers Valle Walkey, the book version of An Infinite Line: Brighton is a collection of writings which describe in words the mercurial and ephemeral light as it changes across a day, across seasons, and across a year.

You can buy the An Infinite Line: Brighton book as well as Invisible Things, a book about devising, from our online shop here.

Creative Team

Devised, designed and directed by: David Harradine
Performed by: Laura Cubitt, Jamie McCarthy, David Leahy & Jamie Bradley
Cine projections and live sound: Mark Webber
Lighting: Jo Manser
Production Manager and design: Ali Beale
Dramaturg: Synne Behrndt
Associate Director: Samantha Butler
Stage Manager: Beth Hoare-Barnes
Assistant Stage Manager: Billy Hiscoke
Installation created by: Mark Webber and David Harradine
Book designed by: Valle Walkley
Phoenix the Horse trained by: Kevin Smith and Cindy Morris

Commissioned by Brighton Festival

Press Quotes

“Strongly evocative….the visual installations work beautifully and it’s hard not to be seduced by Harradine and his company’s vision.”
The Independent

“Like light, An Infinite Line is ever changing. Powerful and magnificent.”
The Guardian Critics Picks

“The performance has moments of surreal beauty and hallucinatory quality, much like the light itself.”
The Argus