Telling the story of one of the nation’s best-known public spaces, the Covent Garden Piazza, from its early years as a playground for the aristocracy, through decline and dereliction to eventual rebirth. Over four centuries the Covent Garden Piazza has been a market, a meeting place, and a site of protest, performance and renewal, and the documentary steps back in time to explore the iconic piazza’s tumultuous history, conjuring up the ghosts of the past – market traders, orphans, artists and activists.

The soundtrack to writer/director Chris Durlacher’s homage to Covent Garden evokes the architectural grandeur, the market’s hustle and bustle, and a rich cast of characters that have inhabited the space over the centuries, from sex workers, to actors, market traders, writers and activists. The film has a deep personal connection for me as, before becoming a full-time composer, I worked principally as a performer and spent good deal of time in my formative years playing piano and keyboards in various venues and theatres around the Covent Garden area. The music is scored for a quasi classical chamber ensemble of strings, woodwind, brass and piano and conveys the sense of intimacy of the personal stories, both present day and historical as well as complimenting the rich array of visuals from classical art, to archive film to scenes of contemporary London.‘ – Paul Honey