Frenulum is an experimental opera following eight children as they perform imaginary tongue surgery on a member of their group, supposedly to improve their pronunciation of English speech sounds.
Through theatre and song, the film highlights the continuing violent relationship between English phonetics and global capitalism, situating this relationship within the politics of children’s games, ritual and societal expectations.
Director and Writer | Ree Sebastian Bradley
Performers | Alicia Bramwell, Noel Evans, Verity Drew Firth, Dulcie McEvoy Gould, Roman Jameel, Zac Pile, Konstanza Firth-Radford, Anika Selvarajah
Cinematography | Marlon Rouse Tavares and Rosie Taylor
Sound Recording and Design | Oriol Campi
Costume Design | Immanuela Stawski
Music Composition | Benjamin Bradley and Ree Sebastian Bradley
Clapper Loader | Immanuela Stawski
Vocal Coaching Consultants | Claire Goodall and Kate Montague
Creative Producer | Phillip Warnell
Producer | Nikta Mohammadi
BBC Commissioning Executive | Stephen James-Yeoman
Special Thanks | Tim Copeck and the Kingston University AV Rental Department, Elaine Eaglestone at Casting Kids, Kate Montague
Installation Views | Transmissions, ICA, London, UK, 2020
Supported by | New Creatives Scheme; BBC, UK; ICA, London, UK; Kingston University, London, UK