The Canticles (2002)
Music: Benjamin Britten
This co-production with Streetwise Opera was a major community project, based around workshops in five London homeless shelters, and involving many homeless participants in the final performances at Westminster Abbey.
Assistant Directors: Una Murphy, Nicole Proia, Claire Parry-Jones, Nina Brazier, Jemma Gardner
Beyond moving… The arts have this magical power to bring us closer together through our own creativity and through our responses to that of others. This event proved it beyond a shadow of a doubt. I doubt whether the performers or anyone else present will ever forget this inspired and inspiring occasion. Opera ★★★★★
Every performer and director for there were many should be proud: a witty, brave, imaginative evening. Independent on Sunday ★★★★★
Truly awe-inspiring. Cynics detecting political correctness in overdrive would have felt satisfied if the results were makeshift and amateurish, but the opposite was true. Musically the performances were superb. The Times ★★★★★
I could sing a hundred praises of this superb stage premiere, yet still undersell it. This was peripatetic drama at its best: powerful, involving, sympathetic, touching, inspiring. The Independent ★★★★
Proof that it is worth investing in the arts because they can improve people’s lives, at ground level, where it’s needed. The Guardian ★★★★
Read the independent evaluation of The Canticles here.
Starring participants from:
The Dellow Centre
The Passage
Look Ahead, Victoria
The London Connection
Queen Mary Hostel
Director: Bill Bankes Jones
Producer: Matthew Peacock
Designer: Carrie Southall
Lighting Designer: Mark Doubleday
Music Director/Piano: Dominic Harlan
Tenor: Daniel Norman
Countertenor: Simon Baker
Countertenor (Voice of God): James Bowman
Tenor (Voice of God): Ian Partridge
Baritone:Tom Guthrie
Harp: Alice Trentham
French Horn: Evgeny Chebykin
Dancer: Tim Blowfield
Project Co-ordinator: JJ
Production Manager: Tom Albu
Stage Manager: Marius Ronning
Wardrobe: Lucy Khan
Production Assistant: Terry Doyle
Starring participants from:
The Dellow Centre
The Passage
Look Ahead, Victoria
The London Connection
Queen Mary Hostel
Director: Bill Bankes Jones
Producer: Matthew Peacock
Designer: Carrie Southall
Lighting Designer: Mark Doubleday
Music Director/Piano: Dominic Harlan
Tenor: Daniel Norman
Countertenor: Simon Baker
Countertenor (Voice of God): James Bowman
Tenor (Voice of God): Ian Partridge
Baritone:Tom Guthrie
Harp: Alice Trentham
French Horn: Evgeny Chebykin
Dancer: Tim Blowfield
Project Co-ordinator: JJ
Production Manager: Tom Albu
Stage Manager: Marius Ronning
Wardrobe: Lucy Khan
Production Assistant: Terry Doyle