MIF23: Noah’s Flood at Depot Mayfield

One of the family-friendly highlights of this year’s Manchester International Festival is Noah’s Flood, a one-of-a-kind opera production that holds community and creativity at its core.

The varied cast features world-class musicians alongside community performers from Holbeck and Manchester, in a show brought to life with over 180 children playing the roles of the animals, and poet Lemn Sissay as the voice of God, speaking live throughout the performance, alongside Morgan Pearse as the voice of Noah and Heather Lowe as the voice of Mrs Noah.

Noah’s Flood is a reimagining of a tale we know well, and this dynamic re-staging of Benjamin Britten’s community opera ‘Noye’s Fludde’, the waters are rising rapidly, and the world is ending! Can Noah save his family and the world and its animals from extinction in this miraculous story of hope and survival?

First performed in 1958,  this modern, but still brilliant version of the community opera is directed by Slung Low’s Alan Lane.

Alongside the orchestra of Manchester Collective, the score features a motley crew of recorders, wind machines, mugs that you hit with sticks, bugles, an organ and a trio of belting hymns for everyone to join in with.

Adam Szabo, Artistic Director and Chief Executive from the Manchester Collective tells us:

“Noah’s Flood is a totally unique work–it’s part of a rich operatic tradition, but with sharing, inclusion and community at its beating heart. A joyful spirit of collaboration runs through the piece, making it the ideal debut for Manchester Collective and Slung Low to perform at MIF2023. This production will showcase British opera at its very finest, made in the north, for the people, by the people.”

Family-friendly and open to all, this is a show about the joys of working together and using the tools you have around you to get creative – your voice included.

Noah’s Flood is a Slung Low and Manchester Collective co-production in association with Leeds People’s Theatre, Ingram Road Primary School, LEEDS 2023 and Factory International for Manchester International Festival.