Promenade opera theatre piece by Vanessa Oakes and Vahan Salorian, set in an Emergency Reception Centre and breaking down the barriers between performers and audience.
Vanessa Oakes and Vahan Salorian bring Songs for Survivors of the 21st Century to the Belgrade Theatre in April 2027. It's a new piece of opera theatre, with Oakes on the words and Salorian on the music, and it's staged as a promenade performance, so you'll be on your feet and moving through the space rather than sitting in a row of seats. The show welcomes the audience into an Emergency Reception Centre as survivors of the current loneliness epidemic, and it's billed as a life-affirming, heartfelt celebration of shared humanity — as funny as it is sometimes sad, and asking what would happen if we had more time for each other.
Because it's a promenade, the production deliberately breaks down the barriers between the performers and the audience, and it challenges over-staged theatrical techniques. If you have access needs, there are a limited number of chairs available. At a public rehearsal, audience members called it 'fantastic, very moving and very powerful', and a fresh take on how opera can engage ordinary people. The show is supported by Arts Council England, Birmingham Opera Company and The Sir Barry Jackson Trust, and the company has also staged opera pop-ups, including one at the allotments cared for by MIND Coventry.
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It runs over three days: Thursday 29 April and Friday 30 April at 7:45pm, and Saturday 1 May with a 2pm matinee and a 7:45pm performance. Tickets are £20 including the booking fee, with a limited number of earlybird tickets available for £12 until 31 October.
