Show which has artists spinning by the grave

A scene from Depart by Circa at Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park.

Australian troupe Circa is bringing their “internationally acclaimed” contemporary circus Depart to Hull’s General Cemetery as part the city’s year-long City of Culture programme.

The show which draws on themes in the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, “takes audiences on a path through the underworld in atmospheric locations” with performers “dancing above the heads of a roaming audience.”

The production will involve over 100 singers from Hull Freedom Chorus as well as performers from Northern School of Contemporary Dance.

A scene from Depart - coming to a cemetery in Hull in May

Hull 2017 will also work with the National Centre for Circus Arts to train gymnastics and dance students so they can take part, leading the audience around the cemetery.

Executive producer Katy Fuller said: “Depart embodies the whole ethos of Hull 2017: bringing world class artists to the city; showcasing and developing local talent; and using non-traditional venues to encourage people to look at parts of the city in a whole new light.”

The show, which will run from May 18 to May 21, was premiered in London last year, where it was performed in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park.

The General Cemetery, which closed in 1972, contains burials to local notables including Victoria Cross recipient John Cunningham. Among the monuments is one to the R-38 airship - which was the world’s largest airship when it crashed into the Humber in 1921, killing 44 out of the 49 crew onboard.

Tickets for the show are available from www.hull2017.co.uk/depart.