Pinchbeck, M., Smith, O., 2024.

Following the Score: The Ravel Trilogy

This publication is a critical frame for a body of devised work that toured extensively nationally and internationally, The Ravel Trilogy (2014-2018). The three performances, Bolero (2014), Concerto (2016) and Solo (2018), set out to explore the dramaturgy of music and the musicality of drama. This publication frames the playtexts of The Ravel Trilogy alongside a series of reflective essays and provocations on contemporary dramaturgy and musicology from academics and artists in drama, music, linguistics and fine art. The book contextualises themes and approaches of the trilogy and serves as a critical companion to a body of devised work. It stimulates a debate about dramaturgy and composition and invites discussion about postdramatic theatre's relationship to music. This publication marks the culmination of the trilogy and its critical legacy and explores the work through the dual lenses of postdramatic theatre and research questions articulated and addressed by the practice-research undertaken by its co-creators. The dramaturgical context for The Ravel Trilogy and the reflective essays around it allows the editors to explore the relationship between theatre and music. It raises questions about practice-research and notions of creating playtexts from music scores. Pinchbeck and Smith reflect on making and performing The Ravel Trilogy and the process of researching, devising and presenting work inspired by music where score becomes script and dynamics become stage directions.