Islington- The Opera

Islington- The Opera fuses opera and community engagement, Regency entertainment and musical theatre, whilst celebrating the genius of Joseph Grimaldi, the world famous clown and entertainer who is buried in the borough - providing a unique opportunity to make opera accessible to the widest possible audience with many experiencing this art form for the first time.

With the cast made up of 6-22 year olds from a broad and diverse range of backgrounds and ethnicity, Islington - The Opera is set on midsummer’s eve and brings the local stories of Islington’s residents to life in a performance bursting with historical and contemporary reference. During a picnic in St. James’ Churchyard on Pentonville Street, a group of young people inadvertently raise the ghost of Joseph Grimaldi - the Regency era’s father of clowns. From thereon, this darkly comic musical takes the audience on an adventure where they see the group join forces with Islington locals, both dead and alive, to thwart the dastardly machinations of the sinister Signor.