Murder Games: A Double Bill, Arcola Theatre
Funny, inventive and skilfully performed
7/29/2026
★★★★☆
Rediscovering forgotten operas can be just as rewarding as reviving established masterpieces. Both works in Murder Games: A Double Bill have spent much of their lives on the fringes of the repertoire. Madeleine Dring's Cupboard Love, composed during the 1950s, remained unperformed until long after the composer's death despite her remarkable gift for combining sophisticated music with sharp comic writing. Ned Rorem's Three Sisters Who Are Not Sisters, based on Gertrude Stein's surreal play, has fared little better, admired by specialists but rarely seen on stage. Bringing these two neglected chamber operas together proves an inspired choice. Although they could hardly be more different in style, both revolve around murder, absurdity and human behaviour viewed through a darkly comic lens.
Rather than attempting to disguise the modest scale of the production, director and designer Jonny Danciger embraces it. Working within the intimate confines of the Arcola Theatre, he demonstrates how inventive direction can achieve far more than elaborate scenery. Each opera establishes its own distinctive theatrical world with remarkably little. The first unfolds in an eccentric laboratory where scientific equipment, bottles and skulls become part of a playful visual joke, while the second strips everything back to little more than chalk markings across the floor. Those simple outlines gradually transform the stage into both a children's playground and a crime scene, creating an unsettling image that lingers long after the curtain falls.
The contrast between the two operas is handled with impressive confidence. Cupboard Love is gloriously mischievous, finding humour in jealousy, infidelity and murder without ever becoming forced or overplayed. The audience responds with genuine laughter, not because the production chases easy jokes, but because the performances are rooted in complete conviction. Danciger understands that comedy depends on rhythm, allowing both the dialogue and the music to breathe naturally.
Louisa Tee gives a hugely enjoyable performance as the Wife, combining vocal brilliance with impeccable comic instincts. Her soprano possesses considerable power, occasionally almost overwhelming the intimate venue, yet she uses it with confidence and flair. Masimba Ushe proves an ideal comic partner, delivering his lines with warmth and effortless charm while maintaining excellent musical precision. The revelation of the first half, however, is Ellie Westbrook. With barely a word to rely on for much of the opera, she transforms physical stillness and movement into an art form, producing some of the evening's biggest laughs through brilliantly judged visual comedy alone.
If the first opera delights through accessibility, Three Sisters Who Are Not Sisters asks rather more of its audience. Gertrude Stein's fragmented text resists straightforward interpretation, and Rorem's score mirrors that ambiguity. Instead of searching for conventional narrative, Danciger wisely focuses on atmosphere, creating a strange world where childhood games gradually acquire disturbing consequences. The result is less immediately entertaining than Cupboard Love, but considerably more thought-provoking.
Kristina Ammattil, Salome Siu, Eamonn Walsh, Masimba Ushe and Ellie Westbrook perform with remarkable assurance, navigating the opera's unusual rhythms and shifting moods with precision. Westbrook is especially impressive, revealing an entirely different side of her artistry from the comic brilliance displayed earlier. The ensemble work throughout is disciplined and expressive, with every singer contributing to an impressively unified sound.
At the piano, Panaretos Kyriatzidis is an indispensable dramatic partner rather than simply an accompanist. His playing shapes both operas with sensitivity, capturing Dring's sparkling wit before moving seamlessly into the more elusive and psychologically complex world of Rorem. The close musical partnership between pianist and singers gives the performances an immediacy that feels perfectly suited to chamber opera.
What ultimately makes Murder Games memorable is not novelty for its own sake but the intelligence behind every creative decision. The production demonstrates that compelling opera does not require large orchestras, elaborate sets or lengthy running times. It needs clear storytelling, performers willing to commit fully to the material and direction that understands the scale of the work. While the surrealism of Three Sisters Who Are Not Sisters occasionally feels emotionally remote, the evening as a whole succeeds because it trusts both its audience and its material.
Funny, inventive and skilfully performed, this double bill showcases the richness of overlooked repertoire while reminding us that some of opera's greatest pleasures can be found far from the grand stages.
Image credit: Marc Gascoigne
Please support us
Help sustain independent opera reviews.
Contact us
Follow us
© 2025. All rights reserved.
