Projects
Filomena Campus Quartet
with Steve Lodder, Charlie Pyne, rod yOUNGS
THEATRALIA is the enchanting dreamscape envisioned by Filomena Campus, where theatre, music, literature, improvisation, comedy, and her Sardinian roots converge, drawing on her multifaceted talents as a vocalist, theatre practitioner, and academic. The quartet presents original compositions with music by Lodder and Pyne. Campus’ lyrics transport you into the dreamy realm of Shakespeare's Queen Mab and the captivating Sirens from Homer's Odyssey.
Song of a Siren celebrates the unique power of the female voice, irresistibly potent, dangerously seductive, and endlessly pleasurable to those who hear it. E Mi Drommia weaves in the mythical Janas creatures from Sardinian folk tales, seamlessly blending Campus’ Mediterranean roots with jazz and an electronic twist. Irony and wit shine through in songs like God Save the Queen, with lyrics by Italian writer Stefano Benni, and Campus’ love letter to London, Unsettled (Status). The song SHE highlights the courage and strength of women migrants, while Per Franca is a heartfelt tribute to legendary Italian theatre icon Franca Rame and her work with Dario Fo.
Album artwork by Sardinian artist Gina Tondo.
HERSTORIES
Filomena Campus and Steve Lodder
A musical journey through extraordinary women, voices and stories.
HERSTORIES is a musical and theatrical homage to remarkable women artists who have challenged conventions and crossed artistic boundaries. From the theatrical and political force of Franca Rame to the vocal experimentation of Cathy Berberian, the visionary imagination of Niki de Saint Phalle and the poetic legacy of Sardinian singer Maria Carta, HERSTORIES celebrates female creativity in its many forms.
Alongside these extraordinary artists, the performance explores mythical and theatrical female figures, from Homer's Sirens to the Janas, the mysterious fairies of Sardinian folklore, Shakespeare's Queen Mab and Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, whose rebellious wit and call for peace resonate powerfully today.
Blending jazz, vocal improvisation, poetry, theatre, and satire, Campus and Lodder draw on their long-standing creative partnership to create an intimate, playful, and unpredictable dialogue between music and words, moving freely across languages, traditions and artistic boundaries.
Concert in F
Filomena Campus & Steve Lodder
A new international production celebrating the life and work of Italian female iconic artists, from theatre legend Franca Rame to queer feminist author Michela Murgia.
Blending jazz with spoken word, this new piece by Theatralia was created in partnership with the Italian Cultural Institute in London and The Playground Theatre.
Devised and directed by Filomena Campus and Anthony Biggs | Original compositions and arrangements by Steve LodderMONK Misterioso.
A Journey into the Silence of Thelonious Monk
a homage to thelonious monk
Directed by Filomena, Monk Misterioso: A Journey into the Silence of Thelonious Monk features award-winning vocalist Cleveland Watkiss and pianist Pat Thomas both embodying the great jazz pianist, joined by Orphy Robinson (vibes), Dudley Phillips (double bass), Mark Mondesir (drums), MD Rowland Sutherland (flute) and Filomena Campus (vocals and spoken word). Projected artwork by SDNA.
Featuring a script by the renowned Italian writer Stefano Benni, and featuring an All-Star band the show explores jazz legend Thelonious Monk’s extraordinary seven-year creative and personal silence in response to McCarthyism and to the struggle with mental illness at the end of his life. A newly revised version of the show, sponsored by the ACE, has toured the UK in the Autumn 2017 on the occasion of Monk's 100th year anniversary of his birth, with a sold out show at the London Jazz Festival. New tour dates coming soon.
Jester of Jazz
CLOWNESQUE VOCALS
Inspired by characters of Commedia dell’ Arte and Theatre of the Absurd, Filomena Campus explores in this jazz project the versatile role of a jazz singer in a playful, ironic way. Pure jazz is interspersed with surreal and theatrical interventions and short poems. The music is written by Steve Lodder and Dudley Phillips with lyrics by Filomena Campus, who marks her strong connection to Literature Nobel Prize winners Dario Fo and Franca Rame with Jester of Jazz..
Theatralia Jazz Festival
an encounter between two countries
The Theatralia Jazz Festival - formerly known as My Jazz Islands - was created by Filomena with the aim to unite her Sardinian roots with British and Italian jazz styles. Under her artistic directorship the festival has attracted since 2013 a range of top international talents, numbering jazz musician Paolo Fresu, saxophonist Jean Toussaint, vocalist Cleveland Watkiss, pianist and accordionist Antonello Salis, Italian author Stefano Benni and Campus' all-female group the 4Njanas amongst those who have been featured artists. Alongside musical performances, Theatralia Jazz Festival's programmes include extra events such as talks, workshops and discussion panels. Theatralia Jazz Festival at London PizzaExpress Jazz Club Soho in November 2020.
Scaramouche
Filomena Campus & Giorgio serci feat. keld ensemble
A “beautiful atmospheric duo” is how Jazz FM described the project by Filomena Campus and guitarist Giorgio Serci: Scaramouche.
Sounds of the mediterranean meet rhythms of Brazil and Baroque arpeggios. Recorded in 2015, the music by Serci and Campus' lyrics get a mellifluous layer when the duo present them live on stage accompanied by the strings of the Keld Ensemble.
Italy vs. England
Filomena Campus Quartet & Stefano Benni
POETIC SATIRE
England vs. Italy is a production based on a comparative text by one of Italy's most prominent writers, the late Stefano Benni, set on music by Steve Lodder and Dudley Phillips. Including a new version of 'God Save the Queen', the project has an inviting satirical edge.
Credevo Che
Filomena Campus & Simonetta Agnello Hornby
performance aBOUT domestic violence
A theatrical performance of spoken word and music created by Simonetta Agnello Hornby and Filomena Campus about domestic violence, based on true stories.
Uno spettacolo sulla violenza domestica, di Simonetta Agnello Hornby e Filomena Campus, regia di Daniele De Plano con la collaborazione di Filomena Campus. Produzione Feltrinelli.
Further Collaborations
Cleveland Watkiss MBE
Vocal Duo
Having first worked together in 2002, over the years Filomena and Cleveland Watkiss have become a truly exciting vocal partnership. Winner of the London Jazz Awards for Best Vocalist in 2010, and voted Wire/Guardian Jazz Awards best vocalist for three consecutive years, Watkiss is one of the most talented jazz singers in Britain. With Filomena he forms a vocal duo that delivers inspiring workshops and astonishing performances.
Antonello Salis
Duo with accordion/piano
A fellow Sardinian, Antonello Salis is renowned for his skill as both a pianist and accordionist, having worked with the world's top jazz musicians. Campus and Salis regularly perform together as a duo, drawing on their shared musical heritage to produce thrilling shows that push jazz in fascinating new directions . When Filomena and Salis get onstage together, you should always expect the unexpected.
Gavino Murgia
Vocal Duo + Loops + Sax
Multi-instrumentalist Gavino Murgia is mostly know for improvising and modern approach to traditional Sardinian throat singing in contemporary jazz sessions. He is an adapt saxophonist who has performed with Bobby McFerrin and oud-player Rabih Abou-Khalil.
