2020 has been a turbulent year in many ways, and there has been a lot of inward and outward reflection by people and organisations across the world – Welsh National Opera is no exception. We were due to premiere our new opera, Migrations in our Autumn Season but, like so many things this year, that has had to be rescheduled. However, we felt it was still important, even more so in fact, to continue to expand our storytelling to reflect the lives and experiences of the diverse communities across the UK.
We approached the five writers who had originally come together to work with Composer Will Todd on Migrations – Edson Burton, Miles Chambers, Eric Ngalle Charles, Shreya Sen-Handley, and Sarah Woods - and worked with them to create individual films looking at the Arts and highlighting what artists can do to influence future change in a time of crisis.
Each writer has come up with their unique take on the subject, which they present themselves in a series of short films, representing some of the challenges being faced by people across the globe and their hopes for the future. The films were all made in Covid-safe conditions over the past few months by film-maker Alex Metcalfe in and around the homes of the writers.
Art can hold a mirror to the world and help change perceptions and we hope that this work will do just that.