Available to stream on Disney+ since May 2025, Ocean with David Attenborough experiences a renaissance when seen accompanied by a live symphony orchestra. Coinciding with Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday year, this concert is nothing short of magical. Epigram was invited to attend David Attenborough's 'Ocean' in concert at Bristol Beacon on the 24th February and is grateful to Riotsquad Publicity for the opportunity.
With a score written by Academy-Award Winning composer Steven Price, and an orchestra conducted by Robert Ziegler, there is an unforgettably remarkable power in watching the documentary in a concert hall, filled with almost two thousand people. Sir David Attenborough’s soothing, familiar narration sounds lyrical over the instruments and choir, delivering a lesson in respect, ownership and mutual responsibility.
At first, I questioned the medium-sized screen compared to the full-house audience. I was sitting at the top circle, surely too far back to be fully immersed. The entrance music played quietly through a speaker, indistinctly either ocean sounds or rainforest tweets. The audience looked overwhelmingly over 50, and I couldn’t help but feel that familiar climate defeatism. It’s for my generation to fix what’s about to be shown, I thought. And I wished that there had been more students and young adults there. I hoped I wouldn’t leave feeling like the environment is in disaster and it’s too late. I hoped not to leave feeling powerless about big corp’s damage, as I often do when discussing climate change.
The orchestra took their place, the conductor was cheered in, and the orchestral tuning began. I love that sound. For me, it carries peace, and nostalgia. The room felt excited. I could see and hear perfectly fine. In fact, I revoked an earlier thought that this event might have been more suited to a smaller, more intimate venue across multiple nights. In this large audience, the emotional journey of the evening was shared.
The documentary’s stunning visuals were captured by Bristol-based filmmakers, Silverback films, and co-directors Toby Nowlan, Keith Scholey, and Colin Butfield. I cried from awe at the intimate moments between sea creatures captured: dolphins and once thought extinct Black Sea Bass, swimming in sync. The audience became part of the rhythm of the orchestra, which mirrored the rhythm of the sea on screen so seamlessly that it was easy to forget that they were there.
The documentary was split into two roughly forty-five-minute sections with an interval (something I am greatly appreciative of recently, as I notice an alarming industry shift towards live shows without an interval!). As the twenty-minute interval approached, the strings hastened, and the siren-like calls from the live singers seemed to build with the fury in the room as Sir David Attenborough spoke solemnly about the destruction of over-fishing, plastic waste and the bleaching of the coral reefs.
The house lights, signalling the interval, literally jolted me out of a trance – the documentary isn’t a thriller, but with the intensity of the live score, it was equally as gripping.
During the interval, I was now more alert to the number of children. A little boy, in a sea creature printed T-shirt. Seeing all of the dead fish thrown away in the overfishing process had upset him. The repeated entrance music carried new meaning during the interval; it wasn’t quiet or indistinct. It was the urgent cry of the planet, heavy for the audience now carrying an affected tension.
The second half was more hopeful - recovery is possible when the ocean is protected, but less than three per cent of it is. There was an empowering reflection on the potential of public protest, with the successful ‘Save the Whales’ protest of the 1970s.
Eleanor Bate
It was impossible to look at the orchestra and screen at the same time, with the documentary’s fast-paced visuals and narration. Again, the turning of the Orchestra’s sheets of music was a reminder of their presence. This is perhaps a testament to the infallible tech and perfection with which the music was played. It seemed to be coming from the screen, or the ocean itself.
This special occasion is unmissable, on for a limited run of one night only in London (28th of February), Birmingham (1st of March), Dublin (7th of March) and Edinburgh (12th of March). One can only hope that it goes on a UK tour again.
Featured Image: Greg Annandale
Did you manage to catch Ocean in Concert at Bristol Beacon?
