Executive Overview
For centuries, the classical song recital has adhered to a rigid, unyielding etiquette. Patrons arrive in hushed reverence, leafing through programmes detailing a curated sequence of German Lieder or English art songs, and sit in polite, passive silence from the first chord of the opening piano prelude to the final, decaying reverberation of the postlude. The performer acts as the museum curator of a sonic past; the audience, the quiet observer.
But what happens when you take the profound, devastating emotional landscape of the First World War—a cataclysm defined by impossible choices, shattered destinies, and forced trajectories—and hand the steering wheel directly to the people sitting in the dark?
Enter What If?, an innovative, genre-bending recital programme conceived by acclaimed baritone Kieran Rayner and virtuosic pianist Gamal Khamis. Blending the high art of the European and British song traditions with the interactive mechanics of a branching narrative, What If? shatters the fourth wall of classical music. At its core, the production uses music by George Butterworth, Gerald Finzi, Franz Schubert, Robert and Clara Schumann, and Ethel Smyth to tell a gripping, dramatic story: two close friends, both deeply in love with the same woman—an ardent suffragette. One man is fiercely patriotic, charging headfirst toward the call of duty; the other is hesitant, deeply conflicted, and undecided. As the shadow of global war looms over their personal triangles, the protagonist faces an agonizing crossroads: desire versus loyalty, personal principle versus societal duty.
And here lies the theatrical coup: the audience decides his fate.
Utilizing a branching narrative structure with eight distinct possible endings, attendees vote in real-time to determine the trajectory of the protagonist, directly shaping the sequence and emotional color of the musical programme that follows. Far from a mere gimmick, this interactivity elevates the recital into a living, breathing theatrical experience. Critical reception has been rapturous; Everything Theatre lauded it as "a story told well with fun characterisation and lots of genuine humour… genuinely affecting… a feast of joys."
Following successful runs at the Royal Over-Seas League and the Jermyn Street Theatre, Rayner and Khamis are bringing What If? to the prestigious Bloomsbury Festival, with two performances scheduled at the City Lit recital hall in Holborn on Sunday, 18 October (at 3:30 PM and 6:00 PM). With refreshments available between shows, adventurous concertgoers have the unique opportunity to experience two entirely different narrative pathways—and musical journeys—in a single afternoon.
Detailed Chronology: From Concept to the Bloomsbury Festival Stage
The genesis of What If? was not born out of a desire to shock traditionalists, but out of a profound artistic curiosity regarding how contemporary audiences relate to historical repertoire. Kieran Rayner, whose commanding stage presence and vocal dynamism were recently praised by critics during his appearance as Tarquinius in English Touring Opera’s production of Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, has long been an artist interested in the intersection of drama and vocal performance. Partnered with pianist Gamal Khamis—a musician celebrated for his sensitive touch, intellectual rigor, and collaborative depth—the duo began asking themselves how to bridge the gap between the monumental emotional weight of early 20th-century art song and the expectations of modern theatergoers.
The 2024 Debut and Early Development
The creative partnership spent months meticulously curating a repertoire that could seamlessly bridge disparate musical worlds. They sought to connect the intimate, introspective romanticism of Franz Schubert and Robert & Clara Schumann with the rugged, pastoral, and ultimately tragic English idioms of George Butterworth and Gerald Finzi, alongside the trailblazing vocal works of Ethel Smyth.
Rather than stringing these songs together based merely on tonal keys or poetic themes—the traditional approach to a song cycle—Rayner and Khamis wove them into a theatrical script. They established a narrative set against the turbulent backdrop of the 1910s, a decade defined concurrently by the violent suffrage movement in Great Britain and the brewing geopolitical storm of the First World War.
In 2024, the duo unveiled this daring experiment at the Royal Over-Seas League in London. The premiere served as a crucial proving ground. Classical music aficionados and curious newcomers alike were forced to adjust their listening habits; instead of passive contemplation, they were briefed on their role as active decision-makers. The success of the initial showcase proved that classical audiences were hungry for agency, willing to embrace a format that respected their intelligence while injecting a dose of playful unpredictability into the concert hall.
Expanding to Jermyn Street and Beyond
Buoyed by the warm critical and public reception of their debut, Rayner and Khamis took What If? to the Jermyn Street Theatre—an intimate Off-West End venue renowned for bold, text-driven work. Transitioning from a traditional recital space to an established theatrical stage allowed the production to lean even further into its dramatic roots. The lighting, pacing, and character work were refined, transforming the concert into a genuine piece of musical theatre without sacrificing the acoustic purity and interpretive demands of the art songs.
Now, as the production arrives at the Bloomsbury Festival on Sunday, 18 October, What If? stands as a fully realized, mature artistic statement. The double-header at the City Lit recital hall in Holborn is structured specifically to highlight the project’s branching nature: with performances at 3:30 PM and 6:00 PM, audiences can attend both sessions, enjoying a social break with refreshments in between, while witnessing two radically different paths, musical selections, and conclusions unfold from the same narrative seed.
Supporting Context & Metrics: The Intersection of Art Song and Interactive Theatre
To fully appreciate the ambition of What If?, one must examine the traditions it challenges and the cultural landscape it navigates.
The Evolution of the Art Song Recital
The classical song recital—the German Lied or French Melodie evening—historically developed as an elite, intimate salon experience before migrating to the large concert halls of the 19th and 20th centuries. Masters like Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Gerald Moore established a gold standard of intellectual and expressive delivery, but over decades, the format calcified. For many modern listeners, the language barrier (when singing in German, French, or Russian without immediate surtitles) combined with the lack of overt theatrical action can render a recital intimidating or inaccessible.
Rayner and Khamis bypass this barrier not by diluting the music, but by contextualizing it. By tying masterpieces by Schubert and Schumann to a tangible, localized plot—two friends, one woman, the shadow of war, and the suffrage movement—the abstract poetry of the songs is instantly grounded in human conflict.
The Musical Palette
The selection of composers in What If? is deliberately heavy with historical irony and emotional resonance:
- George Butterworth & Gerald Finzi: Butterworth’s settings of A.E. Housman’s A Shropshire Lad evoke a golden, rural England on the precipice of destruction—a tragedy made all the more poignant by the fact that Butterworth himself was killed at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Finzi’s contemplative, elegiac writing deepens this sense of lost futures.
- Franz Schubert & Robert/Clara Schumann: Representing the pinnacle of 19th-century romantic longing, alienation, and psychological interiority, their Lieder provide the emotional vocabulary for the protagonists’ internal storms.
- Ethel Smyth: A towering figure of British musical history, Smyth was not only an acclaimed composer but a militant suffragette (famous for conducting her anthem The March of the Women from the window of her cell in Holloway Prison). Her inclusion anchors the narrative’s female protagonist in historical authenticity.
The Mechanics of Branching Narratives
Interactive storytelling has seen a massive resurgence in the digital age, popularized by choose-your-own-adventure literature, interactive streaming films (such as Netflix’s Bandersnatch), and branching video games. However, applying this methodology to a live classical music performance—where musical keys, vocal stamina, and pianist transitions must adapt in real-time—is a logistical and artistic tightrope walk.
By designing eight distinct narrative paths, Rayner and Khamis have constructed a complex web where the emotional destination of the evening depends entirely on collective audience psychology. Will audiences vote for the patriotic path of glory and sacrifice, or the pacifist, rebellious path of personal love and desertion? Each choice shifts the emotional gravity of the setlist, ensuring that no two performances of What If? are ever musically or dramatically identical.
Official Statements and Artistic Vision
Speaking on the motivations behind the project, the creators have repeatedly emphasized that What If? is not intended to be a gimmick, but a sincere exploration of how historical art can speak directly to contemporary concerns about agency, duty, and conflict.
"We wanted to strip away the museum-glass barrier that so often surrounds classical song," creators Kieran Rayner and Gamal Khamis note in their production notes. "The First World War was an era where millions of young people were forced onto paths they did not choose, facing binary choices that dictated life or death. By giving our audience control over the protagonist’s decisions, we physically and metaphorically place them inside that historical pressure cooker. The music doesn’t just illustrate the story; it reacts to the audience’s conscience."
Critics have been quick to validate this artistic risk. Reviewers have praised the production for avoiding the trap of treating historical music as a sacred relic. Instead, What If? treats the song repertoire as a living, malleable dramatic tool capable of supporting complex narrative architecture.
Everything Theatre’s glowing assessment highlights the delicate balance the performers strike:
"A story told well with fun characterisation and lots of genuine humour… genuinely affecting… a feast of joys."
This praise underscores a vital element of the production: despite tackling heavy themes like war, political radicalism, and romantic rivalry, Rayner and Khamis maintain a sparkling sense of theatrical wit and charm. The production avoids dreary solemnity, opting instead for a vibrant, emotionally rounded experience that respects the audience’s capacity for both laughter and sorrow.
Future Outlook: The Future of Interactive Classical Performance
As What If? prepares for its high-profile presentation at the Bloomsbury Festival, industry observers are watching closely to see what this means for the broader classical music ecosystem.
In an era where traditional subscription audiences are aging and performing arts organizations are desperately seeking innovative ways to attract younger, more diverse demographics, interactive programming offers a compelling blueprint. What If? demonstrates that innovation does not require abandoning high-art repertoire; rather, it requires reimagining the framework in which that repertoire is delivered.
Scaling and Touring Potential
Given the modular nature of the production’s eight branching storylines and its flexible staging requirements, What If? is ideally positioned for future national and international touring. Festival directors looking for boundary-pushing chamber music and vocal events have found a ready-made hit in Rayner and Khamis’s creation. Future iterations could theoretically expand the branching parameters, incorporate digital voting systems for larger venues, or adapt the historical framework to explore different eras of political and social upheaval through song.
A New Standard for Recital Artists
For young vocalists and collaborative pianists coming out of conservatoires today, the pressure to stand out in a crowded market has never been higher. The traditional recital format—while sacred to purists—often fails to capture the imagination of modern cultural consumers raised on narrative depth and interactivity. What If? offers a masterclass in how performers can act as actor-curators, transforming a standard piano-vocal partnership into a thrilling, unpredictable theatrical event.
As the lights go down at the City Lit recital hall on Sunday, 18 October, the real drama will not just be happening on the stage, but in the collective mind—and hands—of the audience. In that shared moment of decision, Kieran Rayner and Gamal Khamis will once again ask the ultimate question: What path will the river take to the sea? And for classical music, the answer is pointing brightly toward an exciting, uncharted future.
