Opera in a Day sharing celebration at Hull’s Freedom Festival

An ambitious brand-new project working with community groups and choirs to create an Opera in a Day is hosting its sharing celebration as part of Freedom Festival – and you’re invited to come along and watch.

The pop-up performance will take part at Stage at the Dock at 3:30pm on Sunday 3 September and last around 25 minutes, showcasing part of Tim Brooks’ and Em Whitfield Brooks’ adaptation of the medieval morality play, Everyman.

Workshops have been taking place across NE Lincs, East Riding and Hull, led by experts in voice, movement, making and circus, with participants getting hands-on with trying out new skills over the last couple of months.

Choral leader/director Em and composer/MD Tim Brooks, the brains behind the project, have been creating large-scale performances with communities for over twernty years and Em is well-known to followers and singers of Hull Freedom Chorus, having led their performances at Freedom Festival since 2011.

She said: “We’ve been working with lots of incredible groups throughout the summer, and we’re really looking forward to this sharing celebration of everything we’ve achieved together. Around 350 participants have been involved with the project so far, and they’re absolutely ready to show what they’ve been working on.

“They’ll be joined on stage by amazing professional opera singers Sandeep Gurrapadi, David Pisaro and Emily Smith on the dramatic backdrop of Stage@TheDock, so you’re in for an incredible treat seeing and hearing them perform. 

“Huge thanks to our funders Arts Council England, and our partners Back to Ours, Hull City Council Arts Development, NE Lincs Arts Development and East Riding Arts Development for their support in making this amazing event happen.”

Tickets aren’t required to watch the Everyman Sharing Celebration, just come to Stage@TheDock, Humber Street, Hull, HU1 1UU ready for the celebration to start at 3:30pm. The event will last around 25 minutes.

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