[title]
From the Royal Academy of Arts to the British Museum to the Tate Modern, loads of London’s major cultural institutions often stay open after their usual hours to let the public see them in a different light. They enlist the help of DJs, musicians, artists and culture experts to pack the evenings with discos, crafty workshops, panel discussions and more. Now, the Royal Opera House is joining in.
On August 21, the spectacular Covent Garden venue will invite the public to wander its corridors and backstage areas after regular opening hours. Between 5.30pm and 11.30pm, there’ll be all sorts of fascinating behind-the-scenes tours, demonstrations, installations and activities that celebrate ballet, opera and pop culture and the artistry behind them.
The goings-on are split into four themes: stories, stage, screen and style. The programme includes a fight choreography demo, live music score performances, a discussion on ballet’s influence on fashion and a demonstration of how iconic costumes are maintained, restored and reused. Uzma Hameed (of Woolf Works and MADDADDAM) will explain how she transforms literature into dance, costume designer Esther Bialas will reveal how she comes up with costumes and brings them to life, and chorus director William Spaulding will highlight how important the ensemble is to opera productions.
Every ticket includes a welcome drink, access to all the goings-on and entry to a silent disco in the beautiful Paul Hamlyn Hall. It also allows you to attend two of the four behind-the-scenes tours going on throughout the evening – either of the props department, the rehearsal rooms and side stage areas, the costume and jewellery department or the sound and broadcast department.
Tickets for the Royal Opera House After Hours are £60 per person and can be bought here. At the moment, the event is just a one-off.
ICYMI: Londoners can take home plants from the Barbican greenhouse.
Plus: Five brilliant London art exhibitions are closing very soon.
Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel.
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.