Silent film accompanist Neil Brand - who has appeared across the UK in Paul Merton’s Silent Clowns - uses clips from some of the greatest moments in silent cinema to illustrate his 25-year career and the special place of music with silent film.
From the earliest, earthiest comedies and thrillers, through a silent cine-verité classic shot by a young Billy Wilder, which the audience gets to score, to the glories of Hollywood glamour and the sublime Laurel and Hardy, Neil provides improv accompaniment and laconic commentary on everything from deep focus to his own live cinema disasters.
The show culminates in a performance of a film he hasn’t seen, talking through the scoring process as he plays and struggles to make some sense of the film.