FULL Bermondsey, 1983 (Robert Reid Allan) London 2023 Arthur Bruce, Oskar McCarthy
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: Bermondsey, 1983
- Composer: Robert Reid Allan
- Libretto: Gareth Mattey Libretto Text, Libretto Index
- Venue & Opera Company: The Cockpit, London, UK, Tête à Tête: The Opera Festiva
- Recorded: September 3, 2023
- Type: Staged Opera Live
- Singers: Arthur Bruce, Oskar McCarthy
- Conductor:
- Orchestra:
- Stage Director: Sam Redway
- Costume Designer:
Information about the Recording
- Published by: MyNewOpera
- Date Published: 2023
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
- Subtitles: nosubs
- Video Recording from: YouTube FULL VIDEO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
In 1983, Peter Tatchell stood as the Labour candidate for the seat of Bermondsey in the upcoming byelection. Following a bitter and fractious campaign that extensively targeted Tatchell’s gay rights
advocacy and left-wing politics, the seat was won by Simon Hughes of the Liberal party (who was
himself forced out by the tabloids in 2006) in what remains the largest swing of any by-election in
British political history.
Since 2019, we have been developing this opera which interrogates this seminal moment in history.
Over that time, we’ve interrogated form and function, exploring the intersection of documentary and
opera-making, and dived deep into personal narratives amidst the political. We’ve played with
resonances across time periods, discovered original musical material, as well as ongoing
disagreements, all connected to this by-election in Bermondsey in 1983.
The resulting piece is a step into the possibility of a documentary music theatre, where verbatim text,
original composition, investigative processes, and dramatic form combine to interrogate a singularly
horrible event from recent political history. Given the rising tide of anti-LGBTQIA+ violence, and the
role that the press and politicians of all parties play in this, this story of this brutal campaign is
unfortunately as relevant now, on the 40th anniversary of the event, as ever before.
PROGRAM LEAFLET