Enjoyed by millions
UNBOXED has reached over
20.5 million people across all four nations of the UK.
About Us - Tower of London
UNBOXED brings 13.8 billion years of history to the Tower of London in live spectacular lightshow
Published:
Download the "About Us at the Tower of London" press release (PDF)
From 16 to 19 November, the Tower of London is to become the canvas for a story spanning 13.8 billion years of history, from the Big Bang to the present day. The iconic landmark will be transformed by About Us, a spectacular lightshow that combines live choirs from across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales performing an original score by acclaimed composer and musician Nitin Sawhney CBE; poetry by leading poets and schoolchildren; and a multimedia installation.
About Us is part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, 10 major creative commissions that have been enjoyed by millions through events in more than 100 locations across the UK and across digital and broadcast platforms this year.
In March, About Us launched the UNBOXED live programme in Paisley, before going to Derry-Londonderry, Caernarfon, Luton and Hull. In each location, historic buildings, from abbey to castle to guildhall, played host to a story celebrating the infinite ways that we are connected to the cosmos, natural world and one another, with elements of the show created by schoolchildren and members of each community. About Us at the Tower of London brings together content created by and with people from all previous locations.
The 25-minute projection includes words by some of the most exciting poets writing in the UK today: Llŷr Gwyn Lewis, Jen Hadfield, Jason Allen-Paisant, Khairani Barokka, Stephen Sexton and Grug Muse. The choirs performing Nitin Sawhney’s score are musically directed by Osnat Schmool. And, for About Us at the Tower of London, singers from all five tour locations from around the UK, including choir members of Codetta, Hull Freedom Chorus, Glasgow City Chorus, Côr Dre, Côr Eifionydd, and BIG Hat Factory Choir, will come together for the first time.
By day, pop-up multimedia installations will showcase the creativity of children with the winning entries of an international poetry and coding competition for young people shown alongside poems and Scratch animations created in About Us school workshops, as well as live portraits of local people from the UK tour locations. This year About Us has continued to work in each of the five tour locations to deliver poetry and coding workshops.