From Armando Iannucci – the writer of I’m Alan Partridge and The Thick of It – and award-winning composer David Sawer, comes a black comedy which is the talk of the town.  Features have been appearing everywhere, from BBC 2’s The Culture Show and Grazia Magazine to Radio 4’s Today programme.  It’s brought to the stage by director Richard Jones, ‘the toast of the opera establishment’ (The Times). With Opera North’s Music Director Richard Farnes conducting, this brand new production is a world-class event.

Read Armando Iannucci on Skin Deep in The Times here

THE STORY

Set in the Alpine clinic of cosmetic surgeon Doktor Needlemeier (slogan: ‘Putting Right what Nature Got Wrong’), everything revolves around beauty and youth. While giving his wife her annual birthday facelift, patching up his lover after an unfortunate skiing accident and giving in to his daughter’s desire to enhance her boyfriend’s manhood, he is also secretly concocting an elixir of youth. All he needs to perfect it is a contribution from Hollywood star Luke Pollock, who leaves the clinic only half the man he was. Questions are asked and Needlemeier has to flee to California.
Will Pollock ever be re-united with a precious part of his anatomy? Will Needlemeier ever face up to the ugly truth that beauty is more than just skin deep?

THE MUSIC

What were composer David Sawer’s inspirations?
'I listened to lots of Offenbach, as well as Johan Strauss and Ravel’s L'enfant et les sortilèges. I was also inspired by vaudeville, so I set about composing a series of numbers which were all different from each other. To be a success I felt that the whole setting, as well as the text, had to be funny, and this is how I aimed to set it up musically.’

How does Janis Kelly (Needlemeier’s wife) describe the music?
‘It’s exhilarating and great fun. I was listening to some of the choruses today and I was getting goosebumps. David’s combination of notes and his choice of harmonies are playful and full of comedy. It’s a sort of musical Nip/Tuck!’

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Reviews

'All this is a potent brew, in every sense ... Richard Farnes conducts it superbly. And there are spirited performances from Geoffrey Dalton's suitably creepy Needlemeier, Janis Kelly, spouting furious cascades of coloratura as his enraged wife, Heather Shipp as his foxy mistress, Amy Freston and Andrew Tortise as young lovers and Mark Stone as Pollock.' The Times

'A final word on Skin Deep - do go, if you can. It is never boring, it is often extremely funny, and Sawer's music is a delight.' Charlotte Higgins, The Guardian

‘Skin Deep…works as an entertaining visual satire, with Opera North’s trademark stylish inventiveness ensuring that the piece is wonderfully watchable.’ Metro

‘Sawer is clearly a highly gifted composer.  Stravinskyan clarity and economy underline his ideas. He offers a fine ear for orchestral texture and thoughtful word-setting. There is particularly some beautiful choral writing.’ Daily Telegraph

THE GAME

Grab the scalpel, steady your hand and take the cosmetic surgery challenge for your chance to win £100 of HMV vouchers goskindeep.com. You can also meet all the characters and find out more about the people involved in this production.

DATES

LEEDS GRAND THEATRE 16, 24, 30 Jan; 4, 11 Feb £10 to £58
0844 848 2722
SADLER'S WELLS, LONDON 17, 19 Feb £10 to £60
0844 412 4300
THE LOWRY, SALFORD QUAYS 26 Feb £14 to £51.50
0870 787 5790
THEATRE ROYAL, NEWCASTLE 4 Mar £14.50 to £54.50
0844 811 21 21

BOOK NOW

To make an appointment please call your nearest Botox Office or visit the Opera North website

CAST

CREATIVE TEAM

Sung in English.
The operation lasts approximately 2 hours 30 minutes.

CREDITS