Peter Crosbie, Guest Artist with Handspan, was composer for the company's long-running production of Picasso's Four Little Girls, adapted and directed by Ariette Taylor.
He worked with Ariette to create the soundscape from 1986 - 1988. Mostly, they worked outside the rehearsal room, Peter devising the score based on Ariette's descriptions of her intent and its staging. She recalled that he hated the production when he finally saw its rehearsals - so much so that he suggested they depart from the project forthwith to salvage their reputations! Nothing daunted Ariette persevered with her vision and by opening night, Peter was as proud of the work as all involved in its creation. Audiences and critics were impressed with it too - and applauded its music - and it remained in Handspan's repertoire for a decade, toured internationally, and won the UNESCO Prize for Promotion in the Arts, in Bogata, Columbia in 1994.
Reviews of Four Little Girls claimed that:
The music is the foundation of the drama and the recurring opening theme stresses the darkness of childhood and growing up.
Loud insistent music, beating to the edge of pain, makes one long for the horror to stop. And the fact that it stops on the very lip of anger, makes the drama more exciting and proves the excellent timing and theatrical ability.