The Grimeborn Festival of New Opera 2013 and beyond Grimeborn is Arcola Theatre’s annual opera festival bringing together innovative adaptations of traditional operas, new and unknown, rarely seen or underappreciated works, and featuring new composers, musicians and artists. It introduces new audiences to opera and gives young and emerging artists the chance to develop their craft and explore new ideas. It also challenges the perception that opera is inaccessible and elitist. The festival was launched in 2007, and to date programming has been based on open calls for submissions from composers, librettists, musicians, directors, and conductors, including those with unfinished scores, scratch material and project ideas. It has grown in importance for musical theatre and its development since. It was cited in the recent Review of the Small and Middle Scale Opera and Music Theatre Sector as '[making] a significant contribution to the development of talent. It offers a range of opportunities for professional development, especially for [those] in the early stages of their careers, who need experience to develop their [skills] and to broaden their repertoire. It has a significant role with respect to the development and availability of new material. It is the major supplier of contemporary opera.' The 2009 festival was a nominee for the Peter Brook Equity Ensemble Award. Since its inception, Arcola has worked with a number of young artists over several years, supporting their career development.
Goodbye Barcelona
Arcola Theatre Production Company. Company Number: 5242988. Charity Number: 1108613 24 Ashwin Street London E8 3DL www.arcolatheatre.com
Arcola Theatre Grimeborn Festival/ p.2
Notable works and people include: Knives Out! Productions’ 2007 urban adaptation of Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann The Boy Who Said Yes (Brecht/Weill), directed by Alex Sutton in 2008 who was nominated for a Peter Brook Empty Space award for Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine at Grimeborn 2009 Goodbye Barcelona (Lewkowicz), a new musical, developed through rehearsed readings at Grimeborn 2008/09, staged at Arcola in 2011 and going to Raval Theatre, Barcelona in 2013 The Rape of Lucretia and The Turn of the Screw (Britten), directed in 2010 and 2011 by Max Key (Puccini’s La Boheme, Royal Albert Hall; Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, Royal Opera House; continued National Theatre work) and conducted by Thomas Blunt (Handel’s Jephtha, Welsh National Opera; Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette, British Youth Opera). Trouble in Tahiti (Bernstein) conducted in 2010 by Timothy Burke, Opera North’s chorus master. Heritage Opera’s adaptation of Austen’s Mansfield Park (Jonathan Dove/Alasdair Middleton); staged at Grimeborn 2011 in its world premiere year, went on to the Royal Academy in 2012. Opera Viscera’s Narcissus & Echo in 2011, composed and musically directed by Tom Court, now BBC Symphony Orchestra’s ‘SoM Embedded Composer’ and writing for the Philharmonia Orchestra; winner of 2012 Royal Philharmonic Society prize. Volta Theatre’s 2012 production and UK premier of The Sound of a Voice (Glass/Hwang).
The Sound of A Voice
Audience development is at the heart of Grimeborn – it is about making opera accessible, giving people the opportunity to watch opera at very affordable prices. Ticket are the same as for other Arcola productions - less than £20 with multiple ticket deals available. Grimeborn brings opera to local audiences in North East London and its less-than affluent communities, promoting the idea that you don’t need to travel far afield or into Central London for it. Presenting it in people’s neighbourhood and a familiar space further helps to make it more accessible. Our creative learning participants and educational partners are given access to performances and there are festival-related activities. A further fundamental aim of the festival is to support and foster emerging talents and provide a platform for them to develop their work beyond the fringe and into small-scale productions. Festival participants receive personal mentorship, technical and marketing support together with free or subsidised rehearsal rooms.
Arcola Theatre Grimeborn Festival/ p.3
Artist feedback and critical reception ‘Performing at the Arcola Theatre as part of the Grimeborn Festival is a unique opportunity to perform opera in an edgy, leftfield venue that allows the audience to be immersed in the drama. The audience at the Arcola is also of a much younger and more varied demographic than in conventional opera houses. This, combined with the close proximity of the audience to the action and the players, provides an unrivalled experience for the audience which as at all times fully engaged with the opera. This in turn that makes for high impact performances and a thrilling atmosphere.’ Thomas Blunt ‘Not into opera? Prepare to change your mind as London's alternative opera festival returns to the Arcola Theatre … a bold and innovative festival of contemporary music that features amazing singers and musicians performing new works, classic and extracts of works in progress.’ VisitLondon Must See, 2010 ‘Challenging traditional perceptions of opera, Grimeborn has attracted a new young audience in their 20s and 30s with tickets at an accessible price.’ Whatsonstage, 2011
Elephant’s Child, Grimeborn 2008
Arcola aims to take the festival to the next level this year. The programme is extended to five weeks, running from 29th July to 31st August. It comprises eight new opera productions with a adaptations of existing major works, rarely performed ones and world premiers. In addition there will be a series of opera-based events. A number of young artists and companies are returning to the festival this year. At the same time, we have for the first time commissioned a new opera, to be presented at Grimeborn 2014: Gabriel Prokofiev’s adaptation of Twelfth Night to be staged by conductor Thomas Blunt and director Max Key.
Arcola Theatre Grimeborn Festival/ p.4
About Arcola Theatre Arcola Theatre was founded in 2000 in a disused textile factory in Hackney by Mehmet Ergen and Leyla Nazli. Arcola’s programme focuses on new writing, social and politically committed works and European theatre. It is connected to its Turkish roots through its sister theatre in Istanbul, Talimhane, founded by Mehmet Ergen in 2002; and its Turkish-speaking theatre group Ala Turka. Arcola’s artistic vision is reflected in its overall ethos of operation: • bringing theatre to Hackney and its communities, many of which are disadvantaged and otherwise have no access to creativity/artistic expression – our Creative Learning activities are not just an “add-on” to our main programme, but integral to our work; • fostering new talent – very often enabling first steps, giving absolute beginners big opportunities. Examples are Rebecca Lenkiewicz who created her first ever piece at Arcola and has since become the first living female playwright to have a work premiered on the National Theatre’s Olivier stage; helping launch the UK’s first black drama school Identity, which now has a presence in Hollywood; • having a fully fledged sustainability arm with our sister company Arcola Energy and our Green Arcola initiatives - we believe that the way we operate and how we create theatre should be done responsibly and reflect our values. On this basis and within this spirit, Arcola Theatre has built a reputation as one of the leading fringe theatres in London, recognised as a peer to much longer established and better resourced Off Westend venues. Arcola has staged work by some of the best living theatremakers, including Timberlake Wertenbaker, Ariel Dorfman, Dominic Dromgoole, Max Stafford-Clark, Frank McGuinness, David Farr, Helena Kaut-Howson, and Kathryn Hunter. Arcola has won – among others - the Peter Brook Empty Space Awards in 2002, 2003 and 2008, the Time Out Live Award in 2003 and 2006, and the 2012 and 2013 Offwestend.com’s Offie Awards for Most Welcoming Theatre and Best Theatre Bar. Our 2012 Sweet Smell of Success was nominated for three Whatsonstage Awards and won for best original music. Our creative learning and sustainability work has also been recognised by e.g. the 2011 Hackney Learning Trust Educators Award, and two Sustainable Cities Awards in 2011. We also work internationally: we are part of Europe Now, a collaboration with Riksteatern (Sweden), Theater RAST (Amsterdam) and Ballhaustheater (Berlin). Arcola reaches audiences of approx. 90,000 a year, including our local communities, some of them traditionally under-represented groups, through diversity of programming and creative learning: Youth Theatre, Arcola 60+ and Arcola Ala Turka. The 2011 60+ project, the Dickens inspired The Uncommercial Traveller developed with Punchdrunk Enrichment has become a global touring project supported by the British Council. In 2007, we set a goal of becoming the world’s first carbon neutral theatre and leading a paradigm shift in how sustainability is integrated into the core ethos of arts and community organisations through the Arcola Energy project. In January 2011, Arcola moved into the old Reeves Colourworks factory in the heart of Dalston and has been renovating/converting it into a fully functioning 4-studio theatre since, as part of the transforming this part Dalston into a cultural quarter. The two main performance spaces seat 180 and 100 people respectively.