Comedy writer and opera singer Lucy Mellors has had enough.
Enough of grovelling to all-powerful male directors.
Enough of being judged for eating a biscuit.
Enough of singing by the bras at the back of Marks and Spencer.
Enough of sacrificing her mental health in pursuit of a dream.
Intertwining Lucy’s experiences as an award-winning opera singer with the stories of Valentina Tereshkova (the first woman in space) and Valentina Ponomaryova (almost the first woman in space), It is I, Seagull is a hilarious exploration of self-esteem, joy, failure, opera and space travel.
Fusing opera and comedy, Lucy exposes current and historical everyday sexism to ask what it takes to achieve something extraordinary, and is it worth it? Supported by Arts Council England, MAST Mayflower Studios, Proteus Theatre, The Point, Fenton Arts Trust, Winship Foundation, Richmond Douglas Charitable Trust.
An opera singer on a mission to make opera more interesting
Comedy writer and opera singer Lucy Mellors is flying into The Broadbent Theatre on 26th April for a performance of It is I, Seagull, her comedy opera show set in space.
Lucy started her career as a successful opera singer, appearing across the UK in nationally recognised productions. She quickly realised that she was performing to a select group of opera fans, to the exclusion of others, and that the industry was not the most comfortable place for a feminist to find herself.
Lucy wants to make opera more accessible for everyone and to showcase the reality behind the industry. Her response was to create her solo show, It is I, Seagull, which fuses her own experiences with the true stories Soviet cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova (the first woman in space) and Valentina Ponomaryova (almost the first woman in space). It not only highlights their achievements but shines a light on the sacrifices they made along the way, and examines how often women risk their self-respect, safety and mental health in pursuit of a dream.
It is I, Seagull is an open and honest performance that showcases Lucy’s award-winning soprano voice whilst providing a hilarious and, at times, heart-breaking and eye-opening view into life on stage.
The Broadbent Theatre is excited to be welcoming Lucy to Wickenby as part of the production’s first national tour, following a successful run in Australia at the Adelaide Fringe in March.
Lucy says: “There is nothing like returning from Australia and heading straight to Wickenby. I hope there will be a lot of similarities between the two! I created It is I, Seagull with the hope of bringing new audiences to opera and to share some of the things I have seen and experienced. I’ve chosen to tell the story of the first woman in space as part of the trend of telling stories of ‘iconic’ women, but this made me think ‘what about the rest of us?!’ So far, audiences have enjoyed the mix of comedy and singing, the story of the cosmonauts and a look into mental health in today’s image-focused world. I hope audience in The Broadbent will do the same, as apparently even if you don’t like opera, you’ll enjoy this!”
It is I, Seagull has been supported using public funding from Arts Council England, the original production and first national tour has been supported by Mayflower Southampton, with additional funding from the Winship Foundation, The Fenton Arts Trust and Proteus Theatre.
