Chasing the Romantics

Chasing the Romantics tells the imagined story behind the painting  Franz Liszt Fantasizing at the Piano (above) by  Viennese artist Josef Danhauser (right). This painting depicts a gathering of several key Romantic artists and acolytes - Franz Liszt, Niccolo Paganini, George Sand, Gioachino Rossini, Marie d'Agoult, Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas. Upon the piano sits a bust of Beethoven. Although this gathering probably never took place in reality, the musical creates a fantastic soap opera that draws these dramatic, passionate people together, leading to the moment that Danhauser depicts in his painting.

It was workshopped in 2009 with students at the Royal Academy of Music and Central School of Speech and Drama.