Alison Cotton

Engelchen

22 June

Music - Spoken Word / Poetry

Musician Alison Cotton presents a multimedia production inspired by the heroic lives of local residents and opera fans, Ida and Louise Cook, who used their love of music to help 29 Jews escape Nazi Germany.

Given the times we live in, this story of refugees is particularly relevant and poignant.

Engelchen (Little Angels) was used to address the sisters in letters from people requesting their help. Alison’s music portrays their dangerous journeys and pays tribute to Ida and Louise, to those they saved and those they failed to save.

Engelchen premiered in Sunderland (their birthplace) in 2023, and it's apt that the second performance will be in Balham, the place they called home for over 60 years.

As you arrive, a gramophone will play their favourite opera music, and artefacts from the Wandsworth Heritage Collection, as well as photos and letters from refugees they saved, will be on display.

Refugees currently living in Wandsworth will read letters they've written back home. Professor Angela Smith (University of Sunderland) will talk about the Cook sisters' life and work, and poets Hilaire and Joolz Sparkes will perform a reading of Hilaire's poem 'The Cook Sisters Contemplate a Final Visit to Nazi Germany'.