A RARE screening of one of the most extraordinary silent movies to come out of Hollywood in the 1920s will be given a dramatic twist when Sound Affairs present Salomé at the South Holland Centre, Spalding on Thursday 12 November at 7.30pm.
A new score written by Charlie Barber will be performed live by four percussionists from two giant towers on either side of the screen.
Adapted from the controversial play of the same name by Oscar Wilde, Salomé was produced by and starred the fl
amboyant Russian actress, Alla Nazimova, one of the most famous stars of her day. Her aim was to create a bold and experimental work that would raise the artistic level of American films.
However before it was even completed the film was surrounded with the whiff of scandal as rumours took hold that Nazimova had insisted on an all gay and bi-sexual cast in honour of Oscar Wilde. Their melodramatic, highly stylised performances added to the film's notoriety and the major studios refused to touch it. After sitting on a shelf for a year, it received a limited release in 1923, but conservative 1920s audiences weren't ready for something so different and it flopped, almost bankrupting Nazimova in the process.
In recent years however, Salomé has increasingly been acknowledged as ahead of its time. Tickets are available from the box office on 01775 764 777 or www.southhollandcentre.co.uk
