Seven performers cluster closely around a central performer reading from a small black book, their concerned faces framed by an exposed brick wall.

Woolwich Works, The Fireworks Factory2023

Displaced: A Woolwich Arsenal Opera

The Production

Displaced: A Woolwich Arsenal Opera was a work-in-progress community opera presented at Woolwich Works for Tête à Tête: The Opera Festival 2023, created by PJ Harris and Hannah Kumari in association with English National Opera. Inspired by Arsenal FC’s Woolwich origins, local munitions-factory history and the Suffragette campaign, the project brought professional opera artists together with a mixed community chorus.

28 photographs in the curated edit

Director: PJ Harris
Photography: Steve Gregson

Open double doors marked “BEANFEAST” lead into a long room set with rows of folding chairs under strip lighting.

Two performers stand with their backs to the viewer, looking through a tall window across the water from between rough brick walls.

A spiral-bound score for “Displaced: A Woolwich Arsenal Opera” rests on the music stand of a Yamaha piano in a brick-walled rehearsal space.

Performers stand around small café tables and folding chairs in an exposed-brick room, with handwritten notes pinned across a large white panel behind them.

A group seated around a small table laugh together, holding water glasses beneath sheets of handwritten notes on the wall.

Four performers stand in a line against an exposed brick wall, cheering with raised fists in a burst of energy.

Two performers in close-up look ahead with open mouths and heightened expressions, set against a rough brick wall.

A performer in a green sleeveless shirt leans in with both hands on another performer’s shoulders as they face each other tensely.

An ensemble surges forward between folding chairs with fists raised, shouting or cheering in a lively rehearsal-room scene.

A woman in pale overalls reads from a small device with a troubled expression while three performers stand behind her against an exposed brick wall.

A seated man in a blue sports shirt looks up intently from a table with glasses, with a blurred standing figure in the foreground and handwritten notes pinned behind him.

In a close, tense moment, a man gently holds a woman's neck as they face each other against a bare brick wall.

A group of performers in casual sportswear laugh and gather around a blond performer who gestures broadly with both arms.

A wide view of the performance space shows a woman reading from a device while several performers sit or stand around café tables, with audience heads visible in the foreground.

A red-haired woman in a blue top sits still with a serious, distant expression, with another performer blurred in the background.

A woman grips the front of a man's black shirt as they face each other closely in a charged confrontation.

Two women sit at a small café table, one leaning forward and holding the other's hand while audience heads frame the foreground.

Four men stand shoulder to shoulder against a brick wall, three with arms around each other and animated expressions while one looks away.

A woman stands downcast in the foreground as a man beside her gestures with both hands, with other performers seated or moving in the background.

A performer with bleached blond hair in a sleeveless grey outfit clutches their collar, looking down tensely against an exposed brick wall.

In an intimate brick-walled space, a woman in a blue top and bright trousers stands firmly beside a small café table while two others watch.

A woman raises both hands while speaking animatedly as a man facing her points a finger, creating a tense exchange against the brick wall.

A blond performer stands beside a seated man in blue, resting a hand on his shoulder and holding his arm near a small table.

A man in black stands alert while a woman seated behind him grips a folding chair beside a small table with glasses.

A curly-haired performer in a striped shirt holds papers and touches his chest, looking upward with an earnest expression.

An audience member holds a printed programme headed “Displaced: A Woolwich Arsenal Opera,” with other seated legs blurred nearby.

A wide view shows an audience applauding performers seated at small tables in a studio with exposed brick, folding chairs, and handwritten notes on the wall.

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