
Audio Description & Touch Tours
Designed for those with a visual impairment, our audio-described performances feature a live commentary describing what’s happening on stage without compromising the music. Touch Tours also available.
Find out how you can get involved by becoming a Supporter of Scottish Opera, or continue to make a one-off contribution below:
Jonathan Dove
Marx in London!UK premiere
Theatre Royal Glasgow:
13, 15 & 17 February 2024, 7.15pm
Festival Theatre Edinburgh:
22 & 24 February 2024, 7.15pm
★★★★ - The Guardian
★★★★ - Bachtrack
London, 1871. The spectre of communism might be haunting Europe, but Karl Marx’s demons are far more mundane. Watched by a spy, chased by debt collectors, harried by his family (legitimate and not), and rescued repeatedly from financial ruin by Friedrich Engels, a single madcap day is the backdrop for a run of misadventures and mistakes. Marx might have envisioned an economic system that would restore order and equality to the workers of the world, but his own affairs are in chaos. Amidst this storm in a teacup, can he find an hour to write?
Marx in London! takes the great thinker off his pedestal, interweaving zany humour with moments of pathos and poignancy. For the UK premiere of Jonathan Dove’s opera, director Stephen Barlow (praised by The Arts Desk for his ‘slick’ Flight in 2018) and designer Yannis Thavoris (praised by Bachtrack for his ‘splendid’ Ariodante in 2016 and ‘ingenious’ Madama Butterfly in 2014) create a kinetic new production, plumbing the frivolity and profundity of one man’s existence.
This grand farce is led by Roland Wood (Il trittico 2023) as Karl Marx, with Orla Boylan and Lucy Schaufer as the long-suffering women in his life. Rebecca Bottone (The Mikado 2016) and William Morgan (Candide 2022) take the respective roles of Marx’s eager youngest daughter and her hapless suitor. Scottish tenors Alasdair Elliott (The Miserly Knight 2022) and Jamie MacDougall (Il trittico 2023) take the roles of Engels and the Spy respectively.
Kindly supported by The Alexander Gibson Circle and Scottish Opera’s New Commissions Circle
Part of Scottish Opera's 2023/24 season
Running time:
Approximately 2 hours and 25 minutes including a 20-minute interval.
Language:
Sung in English with English supertitles.
Ticket price:
From £21.50 to £98 – prices vary by venue
Concessions:
£15 tickets for Under 26s >>
Concessions vary by venue
Designed for those with a visual impairment, our audio-described performances feature a live commentary describing what’s happening on stage without compromising the music. Touch Tours also available.
Find out more about box office opening hours, travel information and access within the building in all venues.
Get closer to the action and see into the minds of the creatives behind the production
Karl Marx
Roland Wood
Jenny Marx
Orla Boylan
Tussi Marx
Rebecca Bottone
Freddy
William Morgan
Helene
Lucy Schaufer
Friedrich Engels
Alasdair Elliott
Spy
Jamie MacDougall
Pawnbroker
John Molloy
Franz
Chuma Sijeqa
Melanzane
Paul Hopwood
Libretto
Charles Hart
Conductor
David Parry
Director
Stephen Barlow
Designer
Yannis Thavoris
Lighting Designer
Rory Beaton
Video Designer
PJ McEvoy
Jonathan Dove on the UK premiere of Marx in London! 2024
Mention opera and most people think of singing and music – but this is only part of the overall experience. What about scenery, costumes, lighting, direction and choreography?
For those with a visual impairment, our audio description service provides a live commentary during the show, relating the action on stage without compromising the music. As part of the experience, a recorded introduction to the opera is available in advance, as well as a live audio introduction before the start of the performance.
Patrons with a visual impairment can also book onto a free touch tour – an opportunity to go backstage and become more familiar with the set, scenery, props and costumes.
Please book in advance for audio-described performances and touch tours by calling the venue box offices:
Theatre Royal Glasgow:
17 February 2024, 7.15pm
Contact
Festival Theatre Edinburgh:
24 February 2024, 7.15pm
Find out more about our Audio Description and Touch Tour services>>