Touring Shows

The Tiger Lillies - Lulu: A Murder Ballad

The character of Lulu is one of the great creations of 20th Century fiction, and one of its most disturbing. Her unbridled sex appeal, her youth, and her self-destructiveness combine to make her dangerous, unpredictable and tragic. With the men (and the women) who circle her, Lulu’s journey from street prostitute to the toast of Society and back again, is told as a hypnotic and kaleidoscopic dance of death.

The Tiger Lillies’ flamboyant live performance is enhanced by large-scale virtual sets that create an immersive and richly atmospheric environment. Across 20 songs and interludes, the ballad of Lulu unfolds as an uncompromising musical and visual melodrama.

Written by Martyn Jacques.
Directed and Designed by Mark Holthusen.
Performed by The Tiger Lillies and Laura Caldow.
Commissioned by Opera North Projects

Based on Frank Wedekind’s plays, Earth Spirit (1895) and Pandora’s Box (1904)

Presented by Opera North Projects, West Yorkshire Playhouse and Warwick Arts Centre. Opera North gratefully acknowledges financial support from PRS for Music Foundation.

Gavin Bryars - Nothing Like the Sun

In this haunting, dramatic piece for chamber ensemble and voices, Gavin Bryars weaves his beautiful music through and around eight of Shakespeare’s most meditative sonnets. Influenced by early music but unmistakably modern, this is a fresh way to experience Shakespeare’s words.

Commissioned by Opera North and the Royal Shakespeare Company, Nothing Like The Sun has been performed at festivals around the world,

Arve Henriksen - Places of Worship

Norwegian jazz trumpeter Arve Henriksen’s exploration of the instrument’s possibilities shows no limits. In this special project, he brings the improvising spirit of his album Places of Worship to life, alongside long-term collaborator Jan Bang and visual artist Anastasia Isachsen.

Henriksen’s improvising style is rooted both in the glorious geography of his native natural habitats and his hybrid, cosmopolitan environments of the 21st century. On Places of Worship he inhabits the space between these two worlds in a series of pieces taking inspiration from religious buildings and ruins.