Dr Kevin Lu
The voice of Dr Kevin Lu from the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies (CPS) will feature in Thursday’s Wireless Nights Prom at the Royal Albert Hall overseen by singer-songwriter Jarvis Cocker.
Dr Lu, Director of the MA in Jungian and Post-Jungian Studies and Director of Graduate Studies at CPS, was recorded talking about Jung’s ideas ahead of the event. He will be travelling down to London to hear how his words are used in the final performance, which will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
The Late Night BBC Prom is billed as a “journey deep into the ocean and into the depths of human consciousness, with Jarvis as our submariner guide on an underwater odyssey of music and story-telling”.
Dr Lu said: “I was asked to discuss some of Jung’s ideas and the symbolism of the night and the sea. For example, when you dream about water you are delving into unconscious elements of your mind. Jung also spoke about the ‘night sea journey’ in relation to the darkest point of a person’s life. However, if you manage to traverse this you will come out the other side a more whole and integrated individual having been through that darkness.”
The Prom is based on Jarvis’s award-winning BBC Radio 4 series Wireless Nights, his nocturnal exploration of the human condition after dark.
Jarvis will perform alongside the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Maxime Tortelier with contributions from organist Richard Hills and the ladies of the Manchester Chamber Choir with songs by Tim Buckley, Echo and the Bunnymen and The Beatles.
The audience will watch Jarvis nod off to a late night wireless broadcast, then descend into an underwater dream featuring stories of perilous deep-ocean crossings, sea monsters, and extraordinary feats of underwater endurance. There will be an eclectic mix of music on the voyage, from Bach, John Williams, Saint-Saёns, Wagner and Debussy all helping to Jarvis navigate through the night.
Jarvis said: “For one night only, the Royal Albert Hall will be transformed into a gigantic diving bell, taking us on a voyage to the bottom of the sea, a voyage to the bottom of ourselves.
“Joining me on board we have a champion free diver, a giant squid hunter, two men called Roger, psychologist Carl Jung and the BBC Philharmonic.”
The Wireless Nights Prom, in collaboration with BBC Radio 4, is the last of a series of special Late Night Proms produced by the BBC Proms in collaboration with five of the BBC’s national radio stations: Asian Network, 6 Music, Radio 1, Radio 1Xtra and Radio 4.
The performance will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and will also be broadcast as part of the next series of Wireless Nights on BBC Radio 4, which returns in November. It will also be available to listen for 30 days on demand via bbc.co.uk/proms.