ABC/Randy HolmesDavid Gilmour, his wife Polly Samson and some of their family members have taken part in two streaming events promoting her just-published novel, A Theatre for Dreamers, both of which are viewable at the Pink Floyd singer/guitarist’s official Facebook page.
The webcasts feature the Gilmour family gathered on a set staged to look like an outdoor café on the Greek island of Hydra, where Samson’s book takes place. Charlie Gilmour, one of David’s and Polly’s sons, hosted both events, which included readings from the novel, a Q&A segment, Samson discussing the book, and David playing various Leonard Cohen songs on acoustic guitar.
As previously reported, A Theatre for Dreamers is set in 1960, and focuses on a circle of artists and writers who lived on Hydra, including Cohen and his lover and muse, Marianne Ihlen.
The most recent streaming event, which took place on Thursday, featured Gilmour playing an original Cohen-inspired acoustic instrumental that he wrote in conjunction with his wife’s novel, as well as two of Leonard’s songs — 1977’s “Fingerprints” and 1967’s “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye.” David’s daughter Romany sang backing vocals on the tunes.
The first webcast, which took place April 2, the day A Theatre for Dreamers was released, featured Gilmour playing two other Cohen songs — “Bird on a Wire” and “So Long Marianne.”
As previously reported, Gilmour and Samson originally had planned to take part in three promotional events for her novel in three U.K. cities in late March and early April, but they have been postponed until September because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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The second Von Trapped family #ATheatreForDreamers live stream is starting now! https://t.co/kaBzxcCTAG
— David Gilmour (@davidgilmour) April 9, 2020