A two and a half hour audiovisual epic is the latest offering from Ergo Phizmiz. Called The Dimbola Mikado, it started life two years ago, when it was originally conceived as a theatrical performance and exhibition. But due to the pandemic, it has been filmed, cut and edited during the lockdown with all members of the cast participating from their respective quarantines.

“Join Ergo Phizmiz and Friends in an hallucinogenic, uncategorisable work of intermedia art, which uses Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado as a springboard for investigations and conjectures about art past, present and, most vitally, future,” reads the synopsis. The quarantine theatre work takes inspiration from Polish avant garde artist Stefan Themerson and his idea of semantic opera, focusing on the meanings behind words to form a “patchwork of themes, ideas, possibilities and conversations”.

The Dimbola Mikado will premiere on 15 August on Experimental Media Channel. Check out the website for an exhibition of visual material and other various source materials.