OperaUpClose

Olivier Award winning OperaUpClose make their début with the world premiere of fun, feisty, family-friendly Ulla’s Odyssey.

Sixteen year old Ulla is attempting to become the youngest person to sail the world single-handedly in her trusty sailing boat ‘The Homer’, with only her cat Binnacle to keep her company as she navigates the high seas. All is not plain sailing, as our heroine encounters mythical creatures and obstacles on her journey, including Cy-ops, a one-eyed, over-keen robotic customs official who mistakes her cat for smuggled contraband, and Sylla, a dangerous sea creature whose body and mind have been horribly twisted by radioactive rubbish dumped into the ocean. Meanwhile the voices of the Sirens, Ulla’s friends and family, call out to her from across the waves, tempting her to give up her lonely voyage and come home.

This new opera is an enchanting nautical fantasy by New Zealand composer Anthony Young and Canadian librettist Leanne Brodie and was the winner of both the Flourish New Composition Award (2014) and Opera Factory’s Composition competition (2012). The production is directed by OperaUpClose's Associate Director, Valentina Ceschi (TheElixir of LoveandDido and Aeneasfor OUC) and designed by Faye Bradley (Linbury Prize Finalist 2013).

The show is inspired byHomer'sOdyssey, includes live music and puppetry and is suitable for children aged 7+, families and any adult with a sense of fun and wonder.