This event has now finished.
OperaUpClose in association with MAST Mayflower Studios present Vaughan Williams’ and JM Synge’s Riders to the Sea, with a new dramatic prologue and chamber orchestration by Michael Betteridge.
A man, full of unshed tears and haunted by the ghosts of his past, finds himself drawn back to the sea, and the memory of his mother, his sisters, and a great loss.
Newly orchestrated for oboe, clarinet and accordion, and with a new dramatic prologue, The Last Bit of the Moon, by Michael Betteridge and ArtfulScribe’s Community Sirens Collective with Antosh Wojcik, Vaughan Williams’ masterful miniature expands into a powerful tale of family, grief and love’s enduring power.
In a production that weaves together live performance, projection and recorded sound, OperaUpClose bring their own inimitable style to a classic with musical storytelling at its most direct and visceral.
Performed in English, this show is captioned throughout as part of the production design.








Cast

Neil Balfour
Bartley

Neil Balfour
Bartley

Susie Buckle
Nora

Susie Buckle
Nora

Tom Lilburn
Moon

Tom Lilburn
Moon

Julia Mariko
Cathleen

Julia Mariko
Cathleen

Bryony Middleton
Oboe

Bryony Middleton
Oboe

Iona Suomalainen
Accordion & Music Direction

Iona Suomalainen
Accordion & Music Direction

Emily Wilson
Clarinet

Emily Wilson
Clarinet

Lauren Young
Maurya

Lauren Young
Maurya
Creative Team
Michael Betteridge – Composer
ArtfulScribe Community Sirens led by Antosh Wojcik
Matt Fairclough – Sound Designer
Bobbie-Jean Henning – Assistant Director
Cheng Keng – Design/Lighting/Projection
Flora McIntosh – Director
Robin Simon – Costume (Early Career Associate)
Virginie Taylor – Creative Captions Designer
Aaron John West – Filmmaker
Robin Wallington – Musical Supervisor