In partnership with Opera North and artsdepot London

Richard Strauss and Oscar Wilde radically distilled in a new acoustic-electronic chamber orchestration by Amy Bryce from a musical idea by Phoenix Rousiamanis - and an original English libretto by Olivier Award-nominated writer Athena Stevens. A world premiere of a classic directed by Anna Morrissey

For years ‘Salome’ has lived within the system he created. But now she imagines a way out. When Herod promises to grant her any wish, she agrees to dance. What follows is not an act of seduction but a revelation. Through the Dance, the audience finally witnesses the truth of the abuse that has shaped her life and understands why. ‘Salome’ has become trapped within this cycle of memory and obsession. Convinced that destroying Herod will finally set her free, ‘Salome’ names her price. The confrontation culminates in his death. Yet liberation never comes.

In the final moments, we discover that ‘Salome’ has remained imprisoned by the past. Hidden among the relics of the room is the preserved head of her dead stepfather: a terrible monument to revenge, grief and unresolved trauma. The man who harmed her is gone, but his presence endures.

“Salome asks whether violence can free us from the stories that imprison us, and what becomes of a person who survives abuse but is left alone to carry it.” - Athena Stevens – Librettist