Station House Opera
Encyclopedia
Station House Opera is a British
performance art
and theatre
company known internationally for its unique physical and visual style. It occupies the often problematic territory between the visual arts and theatre. The work is shown in a wide variety of venues, including outdoor and site-specific locations as well as galleries and theatres.
) and Miranda Payne founded the company in 1980, and Maynard Smith remains its artistic director. The company has worked with artists and others from many different fields. The work varies enormously in scale, appearance and location and uses spectacle to explore the intimate relationship between people and the environment they inhabit. Described as "Brilliant...one of Britain's most inventive experimental theatre companies" and "unlike anything you've ever seen before", the company have created spectacular projects in a variety of locations all over the world, from New York's Brooklyn Bridge
Anchorage to Dresden's historic Frauenkirche
and Salisbury Cathedral
. More recently the work has been uniquely created for more intimate spaces in Europe, Asia and South America. Based in London, it is managed by Artsadmin
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
and theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
company known internationally for its unique physical and visual style. It occupies the often problematic territory between the visual arts and theatre. The work is shown in a wide variety of venues, including outdoor and site-specific locations as well as galleries and theatres.
History
Julian Maynard Smith (son of the evolutionary geneticist John Maynard SmithJohn Maynard Smith
John Maynard Smith,His surname was Maynard Smith, not Smith, nor was it hyphenated. F.R.S. was a British theoretical evolutionary biologist and geneticist. Originally an aeronautical engineer during the Second World War, he took a second degree in genetics under the well-known biologist J.B.S....
) and Miranda Payne founded the company in 1980, and Maynard Smith remains its artistic director. The company has worked with artists and others from many different fields. The work varies enormously in scale, appearance and location and uses spectacle to explore the intimate relationship between people and the environment they inhabit. Described as "Brilliant...one of Britain's most inventive experimental theatre companies" and "unlike anything you've ever seen before", the company have created spectacular projects in a variety of locations all over the world, from New York's Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
Anchorage to Dresden's historic Frauenkirche
Dresden Frauenkirche
The Dresden Frauenkirche is a Lutheran church in Dresden, eastern Germany.Built in the 18th century, the church was destroyed in the firebombing of Dresden during World War II. It has been reconstructed as a landmark symbol of reconciliation between former warring enemies...
and Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture....
. More recently the work has been uniquely created for more intimate spaces in Europe, Asia and South America. Based in London, it is managed by Artsadmin
Artsadmin
Artsadmin is a UK based charity providing project management to a number of contemporary artists , as well as support and resources for artists at any stage of their career working particularly in the fields of new theatre, dance, music, live art and mixed media work...
.