Details

Roundabout Basingstoke is a community folk opera that tells the story of pregnant young Polly's journey round the town's ring road as she tries to get to Winchester to have her baby. On her journey she encounters a range of historical and fictional characters with local connections, including Macheath from the Beggar's Opera, King Alfred, a political activist from the Civil War, and some Greenham Common women, all of whom in some way hinder her progress. Polly is accompanied on her journey by a cynical and sarcastic Prologue who has plenty to say about bankers, shopping and the weather, and who likes nothing better than to ridicule the audience. Each scene involves at least one of the town's adult music making ensembles, including the Basingstoke Choral Society, Basingstoke Concert Band, Basingstoke Silver Band, Innovations Jazz Orchestra and the Tadley Band. The performance will take place outside the Anvil, in the foyers and in the auditorium, with the audience moving between these spaces.

Creatives/Company

Author(s): Martin Read, Philip Sealey