London Bulgarian Choir with A Spell In Time in the Thames Tunnel Shaft

Event information

Expect heartfelt and full-throated Bulgarian folk songs from the spectacular award-winning London Bulgarian Choir. Their astonishing vocals will weave around a haunting tale of an ancient river and a deadly sacrifice, from acclaimed storytelling company A Spell In Time.

"Haunting and hearty, eerie yet emphatic, and utterly bewitching" Independent on Sunday.

The choir was founded in 2000 by Dessislava Stefanova (Dessi), a former singer with the legendary Philip Koutev Bulgarian National Folk Ensemble in Sofia, and has become a performing tour de force, winning hearts and minds from the Welsh valleys to Bulgaria’s mountain villages.

Sung in a complex and unique vocal style, the folk songs they sing have survived 500 years of Ottoman rule and 50 years of communist indoctrination to emerge with their extraordinary dissonant harmonies, exotic scales, compelling rhythms and exuberant trills and hiccups virtually intact. The choir’s spine-tingling performance of the songs transcends language barriers and sets emotions spinning.

A Spell In Time is an acclaimed British-Bulgarian storytelling company, the first to introduce the unique power and magic of Bulgaria's traditional tales to UK audiences. Here a tale of bridge building in the Balkans connects with tunnel digging in the Thames.

Access involves bending low through a short tunnel and descending a solid scaffold staircase - an extra layer and flat shoes are advised.