‘I believe that new classical music can, and should, be used to talk to about what it means to be alive today’ says Hanbury who has worked across the classics, modern theatre, new writing and opera over the past ten years as director, opera director and writer. From these broad foundations she now focuses on the creation of new and devised music theatre, using the power of classical music and the rich textures of electronic sound to tell current vital stories. She regularly collaborates with composer Alex Groves, initially as Born Mad and now under Hanbury and Groves.
Currently resident artist at Snape Maltings (Aldeburgh Music) Rebecca’s work usually involves telling real stories gleaned from meticulous research such as her last show, Sister, co-commissioned by Spitafields Music and Ovalhouse Theatre which was created from interviews with over 50 women and girls from across the UK. Other shows include Hunger (Cockpit Theatre 2014) and Psyche (Kings Place 2014) where the audience entered an installation alone to be interrogated for the murder of a loved one.