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Death Spells - Episode 1

Death concerns every human being. It is an ever-present cloud on the horizon, whatever civilizations rise and fall on earth. The sense of dread we feel at the thought of our own ‘disappearance’ would be very familiar to the people of Ancient Egypt. We long for immortality, just as they did. Death Spells questions the parallel promises made by ancient rituals and social media. It searches for the core of contemporary society’s worldview using a true format of our times- a TV talk show complete with cookery demonstrations.

Your hosts are the Egyptian artist Mena El Shazly and her collaborators, the collective ongoing project. They will be in conversation with a panel of guests who are each in their own way an ‘expert in death’. A live band, will provide the music, with other contributions coming in via video link. The whole spectacle will be broadcast internationally, making this a truly global world premiere. It also promises to be a memorable evening, with a peculiarly taboo subject at its heart and a delicious shared meal at its conclusion.