The evening begins with a short opera about the pursuit of love, fish and chips, and a loo. This charming and quirky escapade intertwines melodies of life and laughter, with every character just one song away from discovering that we all have a lot more in common than we think.
The piece was co-created by people with lived experience of homelessness in Streetwise Opera’s weekly workshops at the Nottingham Playhouse, working with actor and writer Paterson Joseph, composer David Austin Grey, director Beth Kapila, designer Debbie Duru and music director Tim Lole, inspired by the music of Joseph Bologne (Chevalier de Saint-Georges), George Bridgetower and other composers of African and Caribbean heritage.
The event continues with a performance by soprano Abigail Kelly of Shirley J. Thompson’s celebratory opera Women of the Windrush, portraying inspirational narratives from the lives of women who travelled to the UK from the West Indies between the 1940s and the 1960s. This piece breaks the convention of weak female characters and femme fatales prevalent in the operatic canon by creating uber strong female roles.
This event is part of Streetwise Opera’s Re:Discover festival, which also features pop-up recitals, interactive workshops, talks and an exhibition on 18 and 19 July at the Nottingham Playhouse. Find out more at streetwiseopera.org/projects/rediscover.