top of page
Noyes Fludde - mike kwasniak (23).jpg

July 2024 was a busy month for OPUS with multiple projects taking place in Birmingham, Manchester and East Suffolk - where we were commissioned by Sizewell Creative to deliver the launch of their new cultural programme in the form of a mass-cast community opera and engagement programme.

We worked closely with Sizewell C to produce their first ever event, launching the Sizewell Creative programme which provides free, accessible, and sustainable arts events and initiatives for the local community and schools in East Suffolk. 

 

OPUS produced a mass-cast community opera, designed specifically for the stunning Thorington Theatre, an outdoor venue nestled in woodland. Alongside this, we hosted three free community engagement events, which involved Come and Sings, cinema screenings and a host of craft activities.

​

Tasked with bringing Sizewell employees and contractors into the project, ark designer Hannah Bold held drop in sessions onsite for workers to get stuck in. Over the course of these sessions, a team of 12 employees and contractors were recruited to help on site for the show, from crew to stagehands to set builders.

Sizewell-Creative-blue-RGB.png

“It was amazing. It could not have gone better.

​

The production was seamless.  Construction projects could learn a lot from the focus on a single goal of a great performance.”

 

- Julia Pyke, Joint Managing Director of Sizewell C

The final production saw OPUS support Creative Director, Rosalind Parker, to create a brand new staging of Noye’s Fludde, an opera written by Benjamin Britten, who lived locally and leaves a great legacy in the county.

 

Telling the story of a community who comes together in the face of the climate emergency, the show welcomed 147 cast members from 5-78 years old. 

​

We were extremely privileged to work in the beautiful Thorington Theatre, nestled in the woodland and built on the site of an old WWII crater.

Photos by Mike Kwasniak

The production involved:

6 local schools and 1 college were involved in the final performance;

​

Over 500 pupils took part in an extensive series of workshops over the course of several months leading up to the show;

​

Local and national musicians came together to form the 33-strong orchestra;

​

13 new freelance roles through OPUS;

​

A total of 522 audience members at live performances;

​

3 Assistant Stage Manager work experience positions for Suffolk New College students;

​

20 Sizewell C staff engaged with bamboo design workshops, with 10 staff members coming to rehearsals and the show to support as stage hands and build the ark onstage;

​

New partnerships created for Sizewell Creative with Zoological Society of East Anglia, First Light Festival, Project 21 and Jubilee Opera;

​

Set pieces and costume contributions crafted by HM Warren Hill textile and metal workshops

Directed by Rosalind Parker

Conducted by Timothy Brown

​​

Creative & Production Team

Designer - Philip Eddolls
 

Bamboo Artist and Ark Designer - Hannah Bold


Costume and Wardrobe - Anna Marchitelli

 

Stage Manager - Silki Morrison


Assistant Stage Manager - Lucy Wootton


Suffolk New College Stage Management Team - Lucy Cecil and William Caley

​​

The score of Benjamin Britten’s opera Noye’s Fludde is published by Boosey & Hawkes Ltd.

Noyes Fludde - mike kwasniak (24).jpg

OPUS provided:
 

  • Stakeholder liaison;

  • Production and Event Management;

  • Schools, Young people liaison and coordination including welfare and chaperone provision;

  • Stage Management and on the day Event Management;

  • All elements of Artist Liaison including welfare, transport and catering planning;

  • Rehearsal management and coordination;

  • Box office support and venue liaison;

  • Contracting and budget management 

  • Event Management & Safety Plans, including full RAMS and adverse weather planning.

bottom of page