A musical collaboration by stars of the Bristol music scene will be performed in Bristol and London in early December. Will Gregory (Goldfrapp), Adrian Utley (Portishead), Tony Orrell, Andy Sheppard and the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Charles Hazlewood will be playing Will Gregory's exhilarating score alongside the 1924 silent classic "He Who Gets Slapped". This historic film, directed by Victor Sjostrom, stars Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer and John Gilbert, was the first feature filmed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Catch this monumental multimedia Bristol music collaboration at Colston Hall, 1st Dec 2007. 

He Who Gets Slapped is about a scientist who suffers humiliation and betrayal as his life's work and his wife are stolen by his benefactor. Wearing his heart on his sleeve he decides to become a clown in body as well as in spirit and joins the circus with the intention of making a career of it by playing a clown whose act consists of getting slapped by all the other clowns. He falls in love with another circus performer, and those who betrayed him enter his life yet again. Lon Chaney is known as 'The Man of a Thousand Faces' for his miraculous transformations through his own characterisations and make-up artistry. His legendary movies include The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera. Find out more about the film here.

Will Gregory said: "I think this ranks as one of the great cinematic performances in the history of film. Chaney himself regarded it as his greatest role and whenever he is on screen he exudes such presence and charisma that it is easy to understand why he was the most celebrated screen actor of his day."

You can see "He Who Gets Slapped" at Colston Hall, Bristol on Saturday 1st December at 7.30pm. Tickets are £16 / £5 and are available from the Colston Hall Box Office.

The second performance will take place at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London on Monday 3 December 2007 at 7:30pm. You can book tickets online from the Southbank Centre Box Office.