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Building the right team - what we’re looking for in a Come Bargain-er
A thing that happens when you make a show is that, suddenly, a lot of people want to be your friend, and think you’re really cool. This...
leodoulton
Sep 15, 20245 min read


LARP vs. Interactive Theatre: A Summary
OR: Forgive me, for I have become a LARPer. I have just spent a joyous weekend at The Smoke: a festival of Live Action Role-Playing...
leodoulton
Jan 17, 20246 min read


Three Brief Further Thoughts On Opera Outreach
This may make more sense after reading the similarly-broad previous blog post on a similar topic. I am 90% sure I’ve said some of this...
leodoulton
Oct 11, 20233 min read


Why does opera need new audiences?
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that an opera company must want new audiences. The question is why. Here’s a few expanded...
leodoulton
Oct 11, 20234 min read


Formal, Casual, Fancy: Some Thoughts On Operatic Audience Clothing
Even in my lifetime, there’s been a shift in what people wear to the opera. Specifically, from ‘formal’ clothing to a greater acceptance...
leodoulton
Aug 5, 20233 min read


Rehearsal Friends
An observation I suspect I’ve made before, but might as well repeat. There’s this weird thing in opera, theatre, and similar where we...
leodoulton
May 14, 20232 min read


How To Get Money From Rich Old Men: An Anti-Manifesto
I am an opera maker, and realise the terrible truth: opera needs money, desperately, all the time. Let us assume that the chance the next...
leodoulton
Apr 25, 20232 min read


Narratives About Narrative: A Challenge For Arts Coverage
Amid the inescapable World Cup coverage recently, I was often reminded of this XKCD comic: While an over-simplification, it does...
leodoulton
Dec 23, 20223 min read


Acting Scandalous
A quiet note to theatrical creators, after a few shows I’ve seen. A thought that occurs to me while my mouth is filled… With a crunchie...
leodoulton
Dec 20, 20224 min read


An Apology To The Historical Performance People, After Their Acquisition Of ABBA
Dear Historical Performance People, Please accept my apology in the face of your recent victory, after which it seems unlikely that the...
leodoulton
Dec 16, 20225 min read


Commercially Exploiting Audience Data
“The Audience Agency has just been sacked by ACE, for undisclosed reasons, and replaced with the far from non-profit PWC, which will be...
leodoulton
Dec 13, 20222 min read


Problematic's Problems
Hello. I’m an arts worker, and today I’m going to complain about people who are broadly speaking on my side. Because that’s what we do....
leodoulton
Dec 3, 202215 min read


Dead Operas
Keep reading. There’s a Frankenstein reference before the end. History is littered with dead operas. Der Stein der Weisen (to which...
leodoulton
Dec 2, 20224 min read


Throwing Down The Long Black Glove: Coming To Bargain With A Lack Of Funding
I’ve been invited to discuss this a number of times by opera peers, and tried to hold my tongue so I don’t feel like I’m using a hot take...
leodoulton
Nov 25, 20226 min read


Some initial thoughts on the NPO Announcement
To be absolutely clear: I am writing this in my freelance capacity. I am not representing any of the NPOs that I have and continue to...
leodoulton
Nov 8, 202215 min read


Opera Is Aristocratic (And Not Just In The Obvious Ways)
The first part of the title is a claim I have made on this blog before. A lot. It’s a central part of my default analysis of wider...
leodoulton
Oct 25, 20229 min read


Coming To Come Bargain, Strand 1: Why I (Un-)love Opera
This blog is part of a series on how I came to write Come Bargain With Uncanny Things (tickets available now!). If you want to read the...
leodoulton
Oct 18, 20222 min read


A Case Against (Some) Subsidy OR Why I'm Trying To Make A Commercially Populist Opera
Introduction You may have seen the news of the failure of the ‘Festival of Brexit’, at over £500 subsidy per head for a deeply unpopular...
leodoulton
Oct 12, 20226 min read


Apocalypse Proofed Shows
A plausible scenario for the near future The climate crisis has continued on its current course, with rising sea levels and regular...
leodoulton
Aug 21, 20224 min read


What Really Worked In The JMK
I have been through a lot of application processes. Lots and lots. Anything from Arts Council England to small local funds to whatever...
leodoulton
Jul 21, 20225 min read
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