Tim Burton's Universe by Mystery Ensemble

Mystery Ensemble bring Tim Burton's Universe to the National Centre for Early Music on Friday 30 October, a candlelit concert built around the music of Danny Elfman. It's a theatrical evening that takes the scores from Tim Burton's films and puts them in a live setting, with the ensemble using Elfman's own arrangements.

The set draws from a long list of Burton's most recognisable soundtracks. You'll hear 'This Is Halloween' from The Nightmare Before Christmas, the ice-dance theme from Edward Scissorhands, and music from Corpse Bride, Beetlejuice, Batman, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. It's a wide stretch of territory, and the programme moves between the playful, the menacing, the tender and the grand, following the same shifts in tone that run through Burton's films.

Behind the music is the Mystery Ensemble, a group of professional musicians who've made a name for themselves playing unique programmes in non-standard venues across the UK. They're known for working with a variety of settings rather than sticking to the usual concert hall, and this one fits that pattern. The performance relies on soaring voices and bold instrumental colours to shift the mood from the macabre to the magical, and the candlelit setting adds to that gothic atmosphere.

It's a night that leans into the particular kind of imagination Burton and Elfman have shared over so many years, with the music taking centre stage. The concert starts at 18:00, and tickets are £25.00.