A dancer leaps across an autumn path holding a red umbrella high, with red foliage filling the background.

Riverside Studios, Hammersmith2010

Rain Dance

The Production

W11 Opera for Young People’s 2010 youth opera Rain Dance was inspired by Tish Farrell’s story The Hare Who Would Not Be King. Set among animals on a drought-hit South African savannah, the production blends political fable with climate-change themes.

5 photographs in the curated edit

Director: Ben Occhipinti
Musical Director: Philip Sunderland
Movement Director: Maggie Rawlinson
Set Design: Neil Irish
Costume Design: Caroline Bronwen Hughes
Photography: Steve Gregson

A performer in black leaps under an orange umbrella as leaves scatter around them against a vivid autumn-green backdrop.

A dancer balances on one leg beneath a red umbrella in the centre of a leaf-covered woodland path.

A dancer arches backward with one arm extended toward a red umbrella, framed by tall autumn trees.

A dancer appears suspended beneath a red umbrella on an autumn path, surrounded by dark trees and fallen leaves.

Continue exploring

Mockingbird 1

The Backstage Theatre, Mountview2026

Explore opera photography