From the stunning dockside location of Trinity Buoy Wharf, London…

OperaUpClose bring you music, poetry & discussion exploring themes of home, displacement and delusional love.

A musical and poetic exploration of a young woman’s psyche as she struggles with the boundaries between love and delusion.

Performed in English by a singer and a harpist, We two were lovers – The Sea and I centres around Toria Banks’ new, contemporary version of Haydn’s dramatic cantata Ariadne on Naxos, with additional music by Wagner, Dvorak, Rebecca Clark, Coleridge-Taylor and Michael Betteridge, plus poetry by Emily Dickinson and Carol Ann Duffy.

Running adjacent to OperaUpClose’s national tour of The Flying Dutchman, Wagner’s classic re-imagined by Glyn Maxwell and Laura Bowler as a haunting political tale of displaced people and hardening borders, We two were lovers is powerful musical storytelling addressing critical issues of our time – the movement of people, an island mentality and our complex love affair with the sea.

This intense and eclectic programme will speak to lovers of spoken word and alternative music, to regular theatre-goers, and to all those with a desire to explore the human condition.

Catherine Hooper – Voice

Nicolette Chin – Harp

Flora McIntosh – Curator/Director

Following the performance, join us in a post-show panel discussion and Q&A, chaired by writer, editor and Refugee Week producer Dalia Al-Dujaili, exploring the the process and purpose of re-imagining across art forms, and the contemporary themes exposed in both this programme and The Flying Dutchman. Panel to include multi award-winning poet and novelist Glyn Maxwell, writer Toria Banks and OperaUpClose Artistic Director Flora McIntosh.

This performance is generously supported by the Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust and Arts Council England