19:00-19:45, Saturday 19th September 2026
The Cockpit
Broken Ivy
Music: Florence Lloyd
Libretto: Vivian Bayliss
Fence Off
Music: Ruben Doda
Libretto: Rebekah King
Broken Ivy & Fence Off are a pair of chamber operas created by emerging composers from the Royal Academy of Music.
The evening brings two worlds onto one stage: a vivid, fast-moving programme where different musical languages, cultural perspectives and theatrical styles collide.
In “Broken Ivy”, English folklore becomes ecological myth: nature is not the backdrop, but the protagonist, telling a story of human overreach and its natural nemesis.
In “Fence Off!”, a fencing duel becomes an operatic battle of consciousness: two women trapped on opposite sides of perfection, where every movement exposes vulnerabilities, privilege, and ambition.
Come to the second show this evening for two more operas for an evening moving between folklore, psychological drama, political urgency, and domestic comedy, The Breaking Point offers opera with pace, contrast, and sharp theatrical images. It asks what happens when the forces around us — nature, language, competition, media, love — stop staying in the background and start to break the sense of what we are.
Age range: All ages, but mostly adults
In a festival of new work, please note that shows can often overrun.
Produced by Young Opera Makers & the Royal Academy of Music
Venue: The Cockpit, Gateforth Street, London NW8 8EH.
On the same day:
“Broken Ivy” Music: Florence Lloyd Libretto: Vivian Bayliss Director: Sophie Daneman Cast: Teyfik Kamal, Lilian Noble, Miro Treharne “Fence Off!” Music: Ruben Doda Libretto: Rebekah King Director: Sophie Daneman Cast: Annabel Jeanes, Kathy Macaulay
“Broken Ivy”
Music: Florence Lloyd
Libretto: Vivian Bayliss
Director: Sophie Daneman
Cast: Teyfik Kamal, Lilian Noble, Miro Treharne
“Fence Off!”
Music: Ruben Doda
Libretto: Rebekah King
Director: Sophie Daneman
Cast: Annabel Jeanes, Kathy Macaulay