Kathryn Williams’ Hypoxia is a brand new album of songs inspired by Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar. The project’s origins came in 2013 when Kathryn received a call from New Writing North asking if she would accept an open commission to write something about Plath for the Durham Book Festival’s celebration of her life and work, commemorating the 50^th Anniversary of The Bell Jar’s publication. Struck by the book’s protagonist, Kathryn began what was to be a revelatory re-reading of The Bell Jar (which she hadn’t read since her teens): “What I wasn’t prepared for was the muscular writing. The shocking, brutal honesty. The modernness. Thinking about a woman writing this 50 years ago was astounding.” Finally, with 8 songs ready, Kathryn enlisted the help of friend and collaborator Ed Harcourt who produced and engineered the album, also co-writing a ninth song Cuckoo. To find out more visit kathrynwilliams.co.uk. Tickets available here