One woman, one journey, two operas...

The Seven Deadly Sins, with music by Kurt Weill and libretto by Bertolt Brecht, is a biting and sharp-edged satire of ambition and self-betrayal, set to a score steeped in Weimar cabaret and 1930s American jazz. Anna is split into two halves of one soul as her family sends her on a seven-year odyssey through the cities of America, chasing the money for a house back home.

The Human Voice, with music by Francis Poulenc and libretto by Jean Cocteau, is a harrowing one-woman opera, unfolding through a single, unbroken phone call that becomes the last conversation of a love affair. Alone in her apartment, Elle waits for her former lover to ring, and when he finally does, the small talk gives way to something far darker. Poulenc’s score moves with the broken rhythm of speech itself, tender and devastating by turns. As the call falters and reconnects, one question presses harder than any other: how do you say goodbye to someone who is already gone?

Performed together, these works trace a continuous psychological portrait of a woman pushed to her limits — one through the cities of an American odyssey, the other through the silences of a single phone line. Both pair celebrated composers with extraordinary literary collaborators: Weill with Brecht, and Poulenc with Cocteau.

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Franz & Marie

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"Franz & Marie is a visceral journey into the heart of a good man broken by a bad world."

Set in the twisted world of late 19th Century European Folklore, after action on the front line a platoon of young soldiers has been stationed in an isolated outpost for months awaiting further orders. Among them is Franz Woyzeck, a man haunted by nightmares since his return. He sees fire in the sky—hallucinations that blur the line between reality and trauma. Franz lives for two people: his girlfriend Marie, and their baby, Georgie. Forbidden from taking leave during the war, they haven’t been able to marry, but his devotion is absolute- he goes above and beyond to provide for Marie and his child.

“An Authentic Soul-Rattling Folk Musical”

Franz & Marie is a unique and visceral musical that breathes new life into Georg Büchner’s classic German tragedy, Woyzeck, with soul-rattling Indie Raw Folk. It was originally commissioned two decades ago by the award-winning Korean company Acom and created by key members of the Kentish underground cult band, The Singing Loins. Franz & Marie is an adaptation of that Singing Loins show, reimagined with a 14 strong cast of actor-musicians.

"The brutal poetry of the ordinary man”

Directed by Michael Oakley, Franz & Marie has been adapted for the stage by Teresa Howard based on the book and lyrics by Chris Broderick, music by Rob Shepherd and Chris Broderick - The Singing Loins, arrangements, orchestrations and, additional music by Steven Edis, choreography by Ben Wright, lighting design by Christopher Nairne and sound design by Andrew Johnson and Oscar Cotran with design by Bretta Gerecke. Fight Choreographer: Ronin Traynor.

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Show Archive: The Human Voice / The Seven Deadly Sins

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Franz & Marie

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