Writer of Swindon: The Opera pens new production

Matt Fox, who wrote the lottery-funded piece which was performed at Steam, has teamed up with his wife, composer Jessie Thompson, to create an opera called Nights.

Presented by Swindon based theatre company Madam Renards Theatre, it is an adaptation of Arabian Nights and will be performed at the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery on August 21.

“Swindon: The Opera was a wonderful experience for everyone involved, and I think we put on a show for which the entire town could be proud,” said Matt.

“It was an enormous scale production with around 250 involved in performing and producing the piece. “Nights is somewhat smaller in scale with just two singers, Stephanie Walsh and Becci Smith, both of whom featured as cynics in Swindon: The Opera.”

Steph and Becci, accompanied by Jessie and Annabelle Black, make up the cast and orchestra for the performance.

Under the murderous regime of a bitter king, two sisters, Ria and Dee, set about saving the lives of local girls through Ria’s gift for telling stories.

Halting the nightly cycle of lust and murder through a talent for cliffhanger endings, Dee and Ria survive and thrive.

“Performed by two singers and two instrumentalists, Nights is a very different, all female adaptation of this famous tale, with a distinctly practical approach to life and surviving men,” said Matt.

Nights is touring to the Camden Fringe Festival and Cornwall’s Sterts Theatre this summer.

Swindon: The Opera, which was funded through a £60,000 Jubilee lottery grant, saw more than 1,500 people attending performances on July 6 and 7. The story, which started in 1952 when the Queen came to the throne, was based around a fictional family called the Eveleys.

Nights will be performed at 7.30pm at the Museum and Art Gallery in Bath Road, Old Town .

Tickets are £10 from 01793 466556 or £10 plus £1 booking fee through www.swindontickets.co.uk . It is recommended for people over 12.