Nick Cave just shared the first trailer for Idiot Prayer, an upcoming film that features him performing solo to an empty Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham.
The pandemic outbreak forced Nick Cave to cancel his North American tour with the Bad Seeds, supported by the brilliant Weyes Blood. Meanwhile, the European and UK 2020 Tour has now been postponed until Spring 2021, leading Nick to brainstorm of alternative ways to share his astonishing live show to the globe.
Nick Cave has voiced that the upcoming Idiot Prayer will be the final number in his film trilogy, following 20,000 Days on Earth (2014) and One More Time With Feeling (2016).
Cave reflects: “Studios shut down. Venues shut down. And the world fell into an eerie, self-reflective silence.” Thus, Idiot Prayer was born. And this first trailer is equally evocative as it is chilling.
Named after the chilling track off The Boatman’s Call, Idiot Prayer will be a global live-streamed Nick Cave solo performance, offered exclusively as a one-off ticketed event, happening on July 23rd.
Watch the trailer for IDIOT PRAYER: Nick Cave Alone at Alexandra Palace here: https://t.co/FgKl1JjYZA. Global live streaming event on 23 July 2020. Buy tickets and find out more information including how to stream the event here: https://t.co/tL3zmyQCtr
— Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (@nickcave) July 13, 2020
Nick Cave has voiced that Idiot Prayer will feature “deconstructed versions” of songs from his expansive repertoire. These include everything from “early Bad Seeds stuff” to Grinderman rarities, as well as bits and pieces from in between.
The intimate trailer opens up with Cave penning what can be interpreted as lyrics or new ideas in a notebook. Seated in a naturally lit theatre, Nick proceeds to strut across the room, dressed accordingly in his signature corporate getup.
Nick Cave soothes us with the first few stanzas of The Spinning Song, the opening track to Ghosteen. His voice is isolated, presented in an unorthodox spoken-word format that draws parallels to his Conversations with… performances from 2019.
“’Idiot Prayer’ evolved from my ‘Conversations With…’ events, performed over the last year or so,” Nick Cave wrote on his website yesterday (July 13).
“I loved playing deconstructed versions of my songs at these shows, distilling them to their essential forms – with an emphasis on the delivery of the words. I felt I was rediscovering the songs all over again, and started to think about going into a studio and recording these reimagined versions at some stage – whenever I could find the time.”
Cave is seen wandering through the expanse of London’s Alexandra Theatre, with its brass handrails and decorative mural walls. Once he enters a room cradling a grand piano, we realise that this is the place where we get to experience Nick Cave performing alone for 90 minutes.
The entire Alexandra Theatre performance was shot in June at the marvellous West Hall by a “small team” that Cave assembled. The production team included Robbie Hall behind the lens, Dom Monks on sound and Nick Emerson as the editor who tied it all together.
Nick ensures that COVID-19 measures and safety precautions were taken throughout the entire filming process: “Surrounded by COVID officers with tape measures and thermometers, masked-up gaffers and camera operators, nervous-looking technicians and buckets of hand gel, together we created something very strange and very beautiful that spoke into this uncertain moment, but was in no way bowed by it.”
Purchase tickets for Idiot Prayer at DICE for $29 AUD. In the meantime, check out BAD SEED TEEVEE; a 24 hour YouTube stream that delves into the unusual world of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.
The timings of the July 23 exclusive broadcast are:
Australia & Asia: 8pm AEST
UK & Europe: 8pm BST / 9pm CEST
North & South America: 7pm PDT / 10pm EDT
