GREEN OPERA. DOUBLE BILL.

After a triumphant run of Bluebeard’s Castle at Grimeborn 2022 (★★★★★ British Theatre), Green Opera returns to Grimeborn and the Arcola Theatre with a double-bill of monodramas exploring female identity in a modern world where the technology that connects us can leave us feeling more isolated than ever.

At the Statue of Venus, Jake Heggie
A woman waits by a statue of the Goddess of Love to meet a man she has never seen. Her thoughts and emotions are a jumble of hope, uncertainty and self-doubt. Will he like her? Will she like him? Why did she — a proudly successful woman – allow her friends to convince her that she needed a romantic partner to be fulfilled?

La Voix humaine, Francis Poulenc
A woman talks to her former lover on the telephone. She teases, flirts, promises, lies and pleads. Finally, telling him again and again that she loves him, she drops the receiver…

Cast & Creatives
At the Statue of Venus, Rose: Laura Mekhail
La Voix humane, Elle: Katherine McIndoe
Director: Eleanor Burke
Musical Director: Elspeth Wilkes
Set/Costume Designer: Eleanor Burke
Lighting Designer: Cheng Keng
Co-producer: Community Jameel
Photography: Nick Rutter

★★★★ OPERA MAGAZINE

LA VOIX HUMAINE – “BURKE’S PARED-BACK STAGING WAS EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE”

★★★★ PLAYS TO SEE

“BOTH WORKS ARE BEAUTIFULLY ASSEMBLED AND STRIKE SPARKS OFF ONE ANOTHER”

“THE SWITCHBACK OF PASSIONATE LOVE, ANGER, REGRET, SELF-HATRED AND LOSS OF SELF-RESPECT IS PRESENTED WITH GRUESOME PLAUSIBILITY”

“IT IS A FINE DIRECTORIAL TOUCH BY ELEANOR BURKE TO MAKE ‘ELLE’ PREGNANT, THUS GIVING US AND THE PERFORMER A READY MEANS TO UNDERSTAND THE EXTENT AND FIERCENESS OF HER DESPERATION, EVEN FROM THE OUTSET OF THE CALL.”