Monday 27th May
This Monday bank holiday, we are excited to announce a special event at St. John’s Waterloo alongside Streetwise Opera.
Join us at the Re:Discover Festival for a celebration African & Caribbean heritage through a range of creative and musical sessions!
Join Mental Fight Club and classical singer/music-maker Lucia Vernon-Long in an accessible, gentle musical journey over two sessions in which participants can begin to explore the multi-layered process of creating opera. Together, we will learn how opera is made, staged, and get a sense of its ability to communicate not just story but an emotional arc.
The sessions will be free flowing, light hearted and fun. No previous experience is required, everyone is welcome!
4pm – 4:45pm: Creative Express with MFC
Join Mental Fight Club and singer/music maker Lucia Vernon-Long for this first relaxed uplifting workshop, Lucia will exploring some of the activities and the metaphorical ‘toolkit’ used in Streetwise Opera sessions with us. The workshop will give an overview of techniques and activities explored in Streetwise Opera sessions. We will cover breath work, look at body language, and culminate in a rousing sing of something operatic!
4:30pm – 4:45pm: Streetwise Opera: Pop-up Recital
A pop-up performance by participants in Streetwise Opera weekly workshops at the Southbank Centre, alongside guest artists.
This event will feature songs by Ignatius Sancho, George Bridgetower, Joseph Bologne, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Florence Price, Margaret Bonds and Dr. Shirley J Thompson OBE.
5pm – 6:30pm: Creative Express(ion) with MFC
The second session will be more in depth and will have more of an emphasis on creation. After some gentle warm ups, we’ll look at another operatic tune and will use it as a starting point to create our own response. We’ll begin delving into what opera is –- essentially telling stories –- as well as creating our own response to some opera. The sessions will be free flowing, light hearted and fun. No previous experience is required, everyone is welcome!
7pm – 7:30pm: Abigail Kelly: Pop-up Recital
A pop-up performance by soprano Abigail Kelly, exploring folk and classical music of African and Caribbean origin.
Abigail is an opera singer, vocal coach, workshop leader and director born and raised in Birmingham. She graduated from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire with a first class honours degree finishing her studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (PGDipOpera).
7:30pm – 9:30pm: Opera Performance: Women of Windrush
An electrifying performance by soprano Abigail Kelly of Shirley J. Thompson’s celebratory opera Women of the Windrush, portraying inspirational narratives from the lives of women who travelled to the UK from the West Indies between the 1940s and the 1960s.
Experience the vibrant fusion of Caribbean rhythms and opera, in this uplifting show that celebrates the courage and resilience of the women of the Windrush generation. Thompson's music, interwoven with extraordinary documentary film footage, will leave you feeling inspired, moved and utterly spellbound.
Following the opera we will hear from some of the artists involved in the creative process.
There are a limited number of free tickets for this event.
Email: info@mentalfightclub.art to register your interest.
Re:Discover Festival
Re:Discover in London is a a two-day festival of events, including performances, interactive workshops, pop-up recitals and an exhibition to explore and celebrate African and Caribbean heritage.
If you want to find out more about what else is on at the Re:Discover Festival, check out their website below.
All are welcome and we look forward to welcoming you to St. John’s Waterloo. See you on Monday!
How to Find Us:
Full Address: St John's Waterloo, 73 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8TY
St Johns Church is a 4 minute walk from Waterloo Station.
BY TUBE
The nearest underground stations are Waterloo, accessible via Bakerloo line, Jubilee Line, Northen Line, Waterloo and City Line. This station is a 5 minute walk from St Johns Church.
BY TRAIN
St John’s Church is 5 minutes' walk from Waterloo train station.
BY BUS
The following bus routes stop near St John’s Church: 26, 76, 172, 341, 521, 139, 176, 234. There are also many other close bus stops.