A trilogy of immersive operas, directed by Leo Doulton (Associate Creative Director, The Key of Dreams), is coming to COLAB Tower this Spring for a month-long run. The Uncanny Things Trilogy, which is made up of Come Bargain With Uncanny Things, Come Worship Our Uncanny King, and Come Murder An Uncanny Thing, has been created by Virtually Opera, and will take over the newly-opened South Bank venue from 4th to 30th March 2025.
All three shows in The Uncanny Things Trilogy take place in the same setting; one where supernatural creatures still flicker in the corner of your eye, giving gifts and sickness, able to bind and be bound. The audience-community will decide how to change their lives by mastering rituals, crafting offerings, and negotiating with these beings.
Photo: Charley Ipsen
In Come Bargain With Uncanny Things, a ritualistic gathering tries to solve local problems. In the comedic Come Worship Our Uncanny King, people brought into an Uncanny Thing’s court try to win favour. The trilogy closes with the tragic Come Murder An Uncanny Thing, which sees the community deciding what justice looks like for a captive, dangerous being.
This trilogy of shows is the world’s only interactive, immersive operas, and each contains rich lore, total audience freedom, and a commitment to creating communities with their audiences. Each audience’s choices will develop the ongoing world of the show, forming a uniquely growing experience, and the show's fully improvised music shifts and adapts as the audience changes the world, making their magic feel real.
Photo: Claire Shovelton
Speaking on The Uncanny Things Trilogy, creator Leo Doulton comments:
Combining interactive theatre’s invitation to serious play with opera’s ability to conjure worlds beyond our own has made something special: the chance to enter a world where being a human in a community matters deeply (and also feel like you’re doing magic, which is just fun).
Virtually Opera is a fusion opera company and has spent the past six years creating a unique system for interactive immersive opera. Their goal is to create work that feels truly live: for the audience as a particular community, there and then. Work on parts of The Uncanny Things Trilogy has been supported by a Britten Pears Foundation Creative Retreat, the International Opera Awards Foundation Bursary, Tête à Tête, Voidspace, and the generous support of crowdfunder backers.
Photo: Charley Ipsen
The Uncanny Things Trilogy has been created by Leo Doulton, a writer and director working in opera and interactive theatre. Leo founded Virtually Opera in 2017, and continues as its Artistic Director. In 2023, Leo became Associate Creative Director of the critically-acclaimed overnight immersive experience The Key of Dreams, and in 2024 became Creative Consultant to Voidspace. Their interactive novel Rites of Angels will be published by Voidspace Press this summer.
Photos: Virtually Opera
Cast & Creative Team:
CN Lester: Guildmaster McCall (Come Bargain)/Adorer (Come Worship)
Sarah Griffin: Carol Schuster (Come Bargain)/Silent (Come Worship)/Local (Come Murder)
Amy Kearsley: The Wyrd Gazer (Come Bargain)/Vigilante (Come Murder)
Hestor Dart: The Master of Processionals (Come Worship)/Lawful (Come Murder)
Maggie Vaz Neto: Cover/Assistant Producer
Leo Doulton: Creator (The Uncanny Things Trilogy)/Uncanny Things
Charley Ipsen: Designer (The Uncanny Things Trilogy)
Erika Gundesen: Musical Adviser (The Uncanny Things Trilogy)
The Uncanny Things Trilogy runs from 4th March to 30th March 2025 at COLAB Tower near London Bridge. Standard tickets for each show are priced at £45, and tickets are available for all three shows as a bundle for £105. For more info, and to book tickets visit designmynight.com
Comments