"And he’s very clever. He knows I’m not an actor. And so he has me doing very simple things, very slow walking and going over to Dawn, the soldier, and in some very quiet way, trying to comfort her. I say nothing. I almost do nothing.....The music is so powerful and what he asks us to do was so connected to the music that it felt right. It felt as if I was really involved in this drama."

The drama of war and its aftermath were very much a part of Crumb’s initial inspiration. But there’s also reverence for the songs themselves. Crumb calls "Shenandoah" one of the most beautiful folk songs of any country.

Sellars says its poetry and ambiguity allow the audience to make its own interpretation.

"The song is so haunting and it resonates on so many levels, it remains poetic. I hope what we’re making is the same, that it’s extremely evocative and at the same time poetic and open. And every audience member puts their own images there and their own experiences, and it stimulates your own imagination."