In the Locked Room & Ghost Patrol
A Co-commission and Co-production with Music Theatre Wales
Performed as a double bill
World Premiere
A locked door that sparks an obsession so strong, that the boundaries between reality and fantasy begin to blur. A modern-day bar where three people who are trying to escape their past collide, uncovering a terrible secret and unleashing inevitable tragedy.
Since 2009, we’ve been working with Music Theatre Wales to present productions of contemporary opera in Scotland.This double bill brings together the creative energies of both companies for the first time, exploring the capacity of the mind to shape our lives through the potency of imagination and the overwhelming power of memories.
Composers Huw Watkins and Stuart MacRae team up with former collaborators – Watkins with multi award-winning poet David Harsent(Crime Fiction 2009) and MacRae with acclaimed crime novelist Louise Welsh (Remembrance Day, Five:15 – Operas Made in Scotland 2009) – to bring these evocative tales to the stage.
In the Locked Room
Based on a short story by Thomas Hardy
Music Huw Watkins
Words David Harsent
Ghost Patrol
Music Stuart MacRae
Words Louise Welsh
Sung in English
**** 'MacRae’s opera, with no-holds-barred libretto by Louise Welsh, is immediately exciting, making exacting and effective use of rhythm to portray the ugliness and trauma of war.'
The Scotsman
**** '[In the Locked Room] is a beautifully crafted piece of music theatre, unfussily staged by [Michael] McCarthy with fine performances from Ruby Hughes as Ella, Hakan Vramsmo as Pascoe, Louise Winter as the randy owner of the house, and Paul Curievici as Ella’s money-obsessed husband'
Guardian
'This is a thought-provoking double bill of authentic musical quality.’
The Daily Telegraph
Supported by Beyond Borders†, The Foyle Foundation and RVW Trust
†Beyond Borders is funded by the PRS for Music Foundation, Creative Scotland, Arts Council Northern Ireland, Arts Council of Wales and The Foyle Foundation.
Meet the Creatives. Find out more at our free question and answer sessions
Find out more about what goes into creating opera for the 21st century. Director Michael McCarthy chairs discussions on the artistic inspiration and creative process behind the new works. Come along for an insight into their work and a chance to ask your own questions.
In the Locked Room & Ghost Patrol - Theatre Royal Glasgow Thu 6 Sep 6.15pm
With Ghost Patrol composer Stuart MacRae and librettist Louise Welsh, and In the Locked Room composer Huw Watkins and librettist David Harsent.
The Lady from the Sea and Clemency - Theatre Royal Glasgow Sat 8 Sep 3.15pm
With The Lady from the Sea librettist Zoë Strachan, and Clemency composer James MacMillan and librettist Michael Symmons Roberts
Tickets are free. Please contact the box office to book: Theatre Royal Glasgow 0844 871 7647