The Hive

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The Hive

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Harvey Brough Composer
Stephen Higgins Conductor
Carole Hayman Librettist
Helene Mathiesen Producer
Daisy Evans Director
Justin Arienti Set and Costume Designer
Paul Curievici as Hunter
Lydia Shariff as Griselda/ Gretel
Additional cast to be announced.

A bold new opera confronting one of society’s darkest questions: what drives women to kill?

The Hive is a gripping semi-staged opera inspired by real-life cases of women who have committed serial murder. Set in the world of forensic psychiatry and dark fairy tales, it fuses verbatim interviews with a scorching operatic score and a dark sense of humour that runs throughout.

Created by writer Carole Hayman (drawing on research conducted during her fellowship at King’s College London), The Hive interweaves the true voices of survivors, families, experts, and perpetrators - including interviews from the infamous Rosemary West case.

The title comes from the words of a forensic psychiatrist: “Women kill close to the home - or the hive, as you might call it.” These words echo through a work that challenges sensationalised tropes of the “female killer” and explores the hidden traumas behind the headlines.

Funny, unsettling, and often uncomfortably close to the bone, The Hive confronts our cultural obsession with women at the centre of crime.

Directed by Olivier Award nominee Daisy Evans, The Hive is a chance to experience opera like you’ve never seen it before.

Content warnings: References to violence, child abuse, and suicide.Age guidance: 18+ (contains strong language and adult themes).

Sat 8 Nov 7:30pm £22/£10

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