A bottle with the power to grant your heart's desires could be yours. Sounds appealing? There's a catch. You can only sell it for less than you paid for it. Oh, and if you die while you own it, your soul will go straight to hell. Read more …
Renowned novelist Louise Welsh and acclaimed Scottish composer Stuart MacRae reignite their award-winning creative partnership with a tale of greed and compulsion, inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's short story The Bottle Imp.
James uses the bottle to get all he's ever dreamed of. Happily married to Catherine, he feels his life is complete ... but what has seemed so perfect soon begins to spiral out of control.
There’s scope to fill this opera with emotion, to grip the audience with a simple story well told. And It’s a great story – full of compulsion, darkness and desperation as time starts to run out. But instead it’s a curious detachment that permeates the stage.
It may feed the ears more than the eyes, but director Matthew Richardson’s production certainly has the capacity to touch one’s soul.
Interview: Louise Welsh
Louise Welsh and Stuart MacRae combine for new Stevenson-inspired opera
Theatre Royal, Glasgow from Saturday January 23, 2016, until Tuesday January 26, 2016. More info: www.theambassadors.com/theatreroyalglasgow/
King's Theatre, Edinburgh from Friday January 29, 2016, until Saturday January 30, 2016. More info: http://www.edtheatres.com/kings