Coastal communities have some of the worst health outcomes in the UK. Unemployment, low wages & decades of inequality have resulted in low engagement in cultural activities with some received perception that art, in particular opera and music theatre, is not ‘for them’. Consequently, the known well-being benefits (https://www.britishacademyofsoundtherapy.com/singing-for-health/) of access to the arts & particularly group singing is not being felt by the people that need it most.

Award-winning OperaUpClose will engage a network of coastal communities directly in the making of our work in collaboration with experienced professionals. Groups from across the UK will record a new choral prologue to ‘Riders to the Sea’ in a series of creative singing workshops. The prologue will speak directly to the people who perform it, exploring the realities of modern coastal living & the meaning of family in contemporary society. It will feature as a film in a nationwide tour in 2024.