From
Worcester News in the UK. In the picture, the cast of the rock opera Razorblade World, from left, Jinny Lofthouse, Ewan Thompson and Danny Jackson.
A rock opera about a teenage girl battling mental illness will help raise awareness about the issue, says its writer.
Razorblade World is an opera written by the band Da Vinci, winners of the Marr’s Bar Battle of the Bands contest in 2007.
The show will be performed at Huntingdon Hall in Chapel Walk, Worcester, on August 23at 8 p.m.
The opera is about a young woman called Marielle in her late teens who has had a difficult and emotionally abusive childhood and ends up receiving treatment from mental health services.
The opera is a ‘minimalist’ style performance with only three actors – Jinny Lofthouse as Marielle; Jimmy played by Danny Jackson, who has performed at the city’s Swan Theatre, and Dr Akula, played by Ewan Thompson.
Lead singer Dec Sharma, who wrote the music and has been a mental health worker, said the opera was not written to preach to people but as an allegory to show the relationship between the negative attitudes of society and some mental health problems.
He said: “Not all mental health problems are to do with the individual – they are to do with the way the world has treated the individual. The world itself can be quite dysfunctional. What is to blame for a lot of people harming themselves is the way society treats them in the first place.”
The band consists of Vinnie Liotta on guitar, Tim Wilson on bass guitar and drummer Peter de Kruyk.
They will also have support on the night from keyboard player Danny Mattin, who has played with the band Razorlight.
From Worcester News in the UK. In the picture, the cast of the rock opera Razorblade World, from left, Jinny Lofthouse, Ewan Thompson and Danny Jackson.
