DUST CHILD: English Touring Opera (Preview)
On Friday, a special school in South London played host to the first official performance of English Touring Opera’s latest children’s opera, Dust Child. Yet, in all of my mid-rehearsal jollity, I haven’t once touched on the actual story…
Soon after deciding to leave folkloric adaptations alone post East o’ the Sun, West o’ the Moon (2014), myself and Anna Pool stumbled upon some charming American morality tales. Despite sharing moralistic similarities with the Nordic yarns we were so familiar with, these stories had an entirely different colour and sensibility. Short story: we quickly rescinded our temporary veto on adapting fairy tales and alike.
Dust Child is, in essence, a retelling of ‘The Legend of the Dipper’ or ‘The Diamond Dipper’. Aside from our protagonist Sylvia, we have just two supporting characters: ‘Little Ray’, as depicted in Anna Driftmier’s beautiful illustration, is Robin to Sylvia’s Batman, and Sylvia’s ‘Mama’, whose steadily deteriorating health provides the sole reason for the young duo’s daunting journey through the Dust Bowl. Mercifully, it doesn’t possess the intricacies of East o’ the Sun, West o’ the Moon; a story like this would never have worked for our specific brief.
Young audiences, especially comprised of children with SEN, often require straightforward themes presented within a clear narrative form. In Dust Child, we capitalised on the ‘quest for water’, an obvious box-tick due to its relevance in developing everyday life skills. I make mention of this, because for the many schools and arts centres that will see our production in the coming months, equipping young people with emotional, social and practical life skills will already be a core aim within their broader educational mission.
For me, witnessing a so-called ‘high’ art form reach out to hundreds of disadvantaged young people is a professional gift that cannot be compared. Unique experiences like these can produce a “wow-my-X-is-powerful-and-can-affect-so-many-people” type of revelation in you. This I realise. However, when a smile lights up a young face in front of your eyes, I defy our narcissism to resist eclipse by purest joy. Somehow, it all goes a long way to confirm just how potent, valuable and needed this work really is.
