The Wolf: a bass opera

The Wolf was a high-concept theatre production, affectionately dubbed a “bass opera”, that fused electronic music, spoken word, rap and dance. Inspired by Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, it reimagined the story as a bombastic, dark political satire about UK conservatism between 2010 and 2015.

At its centre was the Wolf: a foul-mouthed narrator guiding the story as a self-fulfilling prophecy, making declarations over bass-driven electronic music and live storytelling.

The story

The production combined theatre and electronic performance in a fully staged live show. Dancers and musicians played four more characters (Peter, Queen Sonya, Grandaddy and a live drummer) while the Wolf performed in the centre of the space, DJing, live-looping and delivering spoken word and rap within the action of the play.

The score blended narrative composition with club-influenced electronic music, so the story unfolded through both choreography and sound design. The project received development support from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cirque du Soleil, and music from it was released through Sunday Best Recordings and Silver Bear, labels founded by Rob da Bank.

The result

The Wolf toured theatres and dance spaces across Europe and headlined the theatre stage at Bestival in 2012, 2013 and 2014. It pushed electronic music into theatrical territory, combining live DJ performance, choreography, narrative storytelling and bass-heavy production into a fully immersive stage show.