A wild new circus opera for children written in collaboration with disabled children is rolling into the UK; Mrs Giggly’s Magic School premieres at The Arts Depot in London on October 13, and The Arts Theatre, Nottingham on October 26.
Composer Chloé Charody wrote Mrs Giggly’s Magic School with disabled children from Oakfield School Nottingham during the pandemic, when disabled children were spending extra hours in isolation. Charody led weekly workshops via video call where she encouraged the children to engage their imaginations, which led them to develop the narrative of Mrs Giggly’s Magic School.
In Mrs Giggly’s Magic School, the magnificent Mrs Giggly has lost her belief in magic, until one day, a young girl appears and asks to be her student. All of sudden Mrs Giggly’s sparkly pets - Lathundra, a fire-breathing dolly who plays the violin; Tigerfly, a trapeze-swinging-opera-singing unicorn; and Bruhnhildazon, a polecat on a unicycle with the head of a snail - spring back to life as the task of teaching magic begins once again.
Ahead of the performances we caught up with Chloé Charody to learn more.
What can you tell me about Mrs Giggly’s Magic School?
It’s a very fun circus opera for 0-6 year olds filled with flying opera singers, a fire breathing violinist and dare-devil acrobats. It’s completely bonkers to be honest and that’s why I love it!
As a mother, I know what makes my daughter laugh, so I’ve created a stage spectacle filled with things that make her crack up.
As Mrs Giggly’s Magic School is for children, I decided to let children lead the initial creative process for this show, so the result is a creation led by children, for children.
I also wanted to create a work for children where they can enjoy the genres of opera and classical music in a way that is exciting for them. I think this is important not only to give the children an enriching artistic experience, but to also keep the genres of opera and classical music constantly evolving.
Where did the inspiration for the piece come from?
The whole story was inspired by the magic of children, and this is the centre of the story. Mrs Giggly encourages the children to see that they are made of magic and that they can achieve anything. This is something that I hope will inspire confidence and positivity amongst our audience members.
How did you approach blending circus with opera?
Since my first circus opera ‘The Carnival’ debuted on London’s West End in 2011, I’ve been working at blending opera and circus together to form a new theatrical genre that I have called circus opera.
In order to develop this genre, in 2012, I opened The Berlin Circus Opera Lab to train a new generation of young opera singers in this niche medium. Since then I have composed several works in this new genre that have toured across the globe.
How key was the work with the disabled children from Oakfield Primary School in Nottingham in the development of the piece?
Absolutely key. I decided to run workshops with disabled children at Oakfield during the pandemic which was a time when many kids, especially vulnerable kids, had to be isolated. I decided to use this time to involve these children in the creative process of writing a new circus opera with me via a series of creative writing workshops funded by Arts Council England, and this is how the initial ideas for Mrs Giggly’s Magic School were born.
After working with these children, it completely changed my perspective on the concept of being ‘disabled’. In fact, I really don’t like the term at all. These children are not ‘disabled’ - they are totally ‘abled’ - it’s just not in a way that the majority of children are. Each child and their ‘disability’ are entirely unique. They have unique ways of communicating, thinking and moving. Each of the children are so special that it was an absolute privilege to be able to delve into their worlds.
It was utterly inspiring to hear the depth of creativity in some of the children’s brilliant ideas. I then took all their crazy ideas and turned them into a story, which I then wrote the libretto to and then eventually the music.
Once I had composed the score for Mrs Giggly’s Magic School, we then made Mrs Giggly’s Magic School into a film (as theatres during that time were closed) where I brought the children involved in the creation of Mrs Giggly’s Magic School together with my team of professional acrobatic classical musicians, opera singers and specialised acrobats.
The result was magnificent and the children were very happy to see some of their wonderful ideas come to life. Since then, I have developed the circus opera considerably and the full stage production will premiere in a few weeks.
What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced whilst writing and developing the show?
After 2 weeks of workshops with the children at Oakfield, we had an overflowing fountain of ideas! So when turning these ideas into a story that I could write a libretto and classical score to, it was challenging, but none-the-less rewarding. I ended up taking the ideas of the children as inspiration and writing a story that ended up being quite unique but with the children as central characters in the story.
If the show was a biscuit, what would it be and why?
Haha! Probably a monti carlo … slightly jammy, slightly creamy :)
What keeps you inspired?
I think it’s the telling of stories that I believe need to be heard - stories that inspire positivity in people, increase awareness on environmental, social and political topics so we can strive to help this hurting world.
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| Chloé Charody |
What does theatre mean to you?
Theatre helps me to make sense of the world. It is a platform that can fight against social and political injustice as well as act as a voice for the voiceless. I absolutely love the term ‘theatre’ because to me it just means ‘creativity’ - it can be anything really.
What do you hope an audience member takes away from seeing the show?
I would love every child to run out of the theatre, casting spells on everything, with an overwhelming sense of confidence because they know that they are made of magic and they can achieve anything!
Where can someone catch the show?
The premiere of Mrs Giggly’s Magic School will be at Arts Depot in London on October 13 followed by Nottingham Arts Theatre on October 26. Later this year we will be announcing our 2025 tour schedule.
You can also search for ‘Mrs Giggly’s Magic School’ on Youtube and watch the short video we made with the children at Oakfield School back in 2021. (See below)
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