Feminist opera to hit London
by Jess McCabe // 19 May 2007, 17:57
A feminist opera composed by a suffragette is to get its first West End run in over 50 years.
According to the production company, The Boatswaine's Mate, by Ethel Smyth, involves:
A feisty heroine – supposedly based on Emmeline Pankhurst – who outwits her suitors in a series of entertaining and resourceful deceptions. Mrs Waters is a wealthy widow whose first husband has left her with a country pub and a determination never to remarry. When the retired boatswain George Benn devises a scheme to win her hand by ‘saving’ her from a burglar whom he has in fact paid to break in, he reckons without her bravery and quick-wittedness.
The opera opens on 17 June at the Finborough Theatre, and will run for five Sunday and Monday performances - tickets start at £9.
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