About

Action Hero: Oh Europa

Oh Europa is a labour of love; a project that spans a continent and cuts straight to the heart.

Since 2018, Action Hero (Gemma Paintin & James Stenhouse) have been travelling through Europe, asking strangers to sing a love song. So far, Gemma & James have recorded the voices of over a thousand people, singing about love and heartbreak in 46 different languages. They have travelled over 46,000km through 33 European countries, spending more than 300 days and nights on the road living in their van, which doubles as a mobile recording studio.

"The whole endeavour is a kind of grand improbable act...” – The Independent

“A mark of endless love... A generous piece” – The Guardian

Research and Development funded by Arts Council England Co-produced with Farnham Maltings. Co-commissioned by Transform, Matchbox and Farnham Maltings. Supported by British Council, Watershed’s Pervasive Media Studio, Vooruit, Latitudes Contemporaines, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre, Anti Festival, Ördögkatlan Fesztivál, Interdisciplinarte, Romanian Association For Performing Arts and Bristol Old Vic Ferment

POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE

See video from the journey and an accompanying ‘atlas’ that maps the project in this micro exhibition.

12pm – 8pm

Free

Thursday 12 – Friday 13 March

Visit the micro exhibition in the motorhome outside Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts

24 HOUR RADIO BROADCAST

To hear even more of the love songs collected during the journey – people singing about being in love and falling out of love.

Thursday 12 – Friday 13 March

8pm – 8pm

Free

Tune in online at oheuropa.com for 24 hours

Live Event: RadiOh EUROPA (DEEP LISTENING PARTY)

Join us for an act of collective listening, as Action Hero re-broadcast the love songs they have recorded as part of Oh Europa. RadiOhEuropa is a live radio show, playing love songs from the heart-lands of Europe.

Detached from political posturing, hollow rhetoric and empty sound bites, these love songs transmit a heartfelt message: an opportunity to hear ourselves emerge out of the white noise.

Friday 13 March

12pm – 8pm

Free

Come and go as you please within the performance times and stay for as long as you like