Opera For Children, Peace At Last, Hits All the Right Notes
The full cast and some of the OperaUpClose team at the first show this weekend
In partnership with Southampton and Isle of Wight Music Hubs and Chickenshed Theatre, we presented Peace At Last, an interactive opera made with and for 2-5 year olds and their families. Based on the much-loved picture book by Jill Murphy and performed by three singers, harp and clarinet, Peace At Last is now fresh off its 2023 tour across studio theatres and schools both locally and nationally.
As a new Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation, at OperaUpClose we have a key mission to grow a body of work made with and for very young children, reflecting and expanding the imaginations of young creators through a collaborative process with writers, composers and performers. Artistic Director at OperaUpClose, Flora McIntosh, explained:
“We tour to theatres, schools, nurseries and libraries, creating a UK-wide network of community partners for future Early Years commissions and child-led creation that supports a sustained programme of music-making in the classroom. Our new partnership with Chickenshed Theatre is an exciting opportunity to embed integrated signing and other inclusive arts practices into all our future work, with Southampton and the Isle of Wight Music Hubs supporting the development of meaningful long-term relationships with schools and Early Years settings in our local area.”
Sara Scott, Executive Director at MAST Mayflower Studios added:
“We were so delighted to welcome OperaUpClose’s performance of Peace at Last to MAST Mayflower Studios. OperaUpClose are a resident company here at MAST and we have a shared aim to bring high quality arts experiences to families across the region so having their charming production of Peace at Last as part of our Family Fun Day was a great way of showcasing their work with local families.”
As well as taking Peace At Last directly into primary schools in Southampton and the Isle of Wight, the production played to packed audiences in four studio spaces across the UK:
Chickenshed Theatre, London
MAST at Mayflower Studios, Southampton
The Landmark Theatre, Ilfracombe
Mansfield Museum
We can't wait to share more about the tour and what's coming next for OperaUpClose. For now, here's some amazing photography from the first performance of our 2023 UK tour.
Photography by Marc Gascoigne
BRINGING THE MAGIC to schools across the UK
Peace At Last was first created in 2019 working with school children in Newham, East London. Working with Chickenshed Theatre’s specialists, an inclusive, interactive theatre for young children, the production was refreshed and enhanced for 2023 to engage, excite and encourage. The response was overwhelmingly positive from children and adults alike. At a time when arts provision is being squeezed, OperaUpClose are delighted to be actively contributing to keeping music and live performance in the classroom. By putting children’s imagination at the heart of the work, they are bringing the power and inclusivity of musical storytelling to all. Associate Director for Peace At Last with Chickenshed, Sarah Driver said:
“Exploring opera with some of Chickenshed’s inclusive theatre for children ideas has been a pleasure! It's wonderful to witness children and their families enjoy a classic story and experience in, what is for many, their first experience of live opera.”
The author Jill Murphy fully endorsed the development of this project. Her death in 2021 was a huge loss to the world of children’s writing; in tribute, her son Charlie Murphy had this to say:
“One of my mum’s favourite things was to see her work come to life in a live theatre setting. I think it was one of the most immediate ways that she could experience people enjoying her stories, as the act of making the books was always more solitary. I have no doubt that she’d have been sat in the front row enjoying this wonderful production of Peace at Last, immensely proud.”
Peace At Last has gone to bed for now, but OperaUpClose are already developing new adaptations of well-loved children’s books, created in collaboration with very young children in the local area.
OperaUpClose puts audiences at the centre of all its work. Intimate in scale and mighty in impact, this is storytelling at its most visceral.