Nicola Lisle talks to the founders of the much-loved Opera Anywhere

Waterperry Gardens is about to get the Opera Anywhere treatment. After filling Blackwell’s Norrington Room with pirates, policemen and gentlemen of Japan last year, now the Sunningwell-based company is letting these assorted characters loose on Waterperry’s amphitheatre — and Mike and Vanessa Woodward, who founded Opera Anywhere in 2000, are relishing the prospect.

“We just love the amphitheatre — the whole idea of it, the acoustics of it,” says Mike. “And it’s a really relaxed, lovely atmosphere. It’s a brilliant place. Performers and audiences love it.”

The Mikado and The Pirates of Penzance have become Opera Anywhere’s flagship G&S productions, which they have now toured all over Oxfordshire and beyond in a variety of different venues.

“We get used to fitting in with unusual spaces,” says Vanessa. “When we get back in a theatre we’re confined to the stage. We try to get into the audience if we can, but sometimes it’s a bit more confining. The good thing about the amphitheatre is that you can run amok amongst the audience and still be in view and still be heard.”

As always, the principal roles will be mainly taken by professional singers, but this time they also have a chorus of amateur singers. Cumnor Choral Society will be joining the company for The Pirates of Penzance and the West Oxfordshire Academy of Performing Arts (WOAPA) for The Mikado.

“We’ve been working a lot recently with local community choirs, and we get a big buzz from working with them because they’re all so thrilled to be involved,” says Mike.

“They don’t do much in the way of acting, they’re just singing, but they’re all thrilled. It makes a nice change from their normal repertoire, I think. And they love it so much, the enthusiasm rubs off. It’s brilliant.”

Mike and Vanessa are nothing if not ambitious, and they are hoping their Waterperry performances will be the start of something much bigger.

“We want to try and develop an opera festival there, and have a whole series of things,” Mike explains. “It would be lovely to incorporate other companies’ productions.

“These two full-blown productions are really a toe in the water. Maybe the year after, we’ll do other operas there, rather than just G&S. But we thought we’d try it with two safe bets and move on from there.

“The signs are that it’s going to be terrific. People were already buying tickets in big numbers in April, which that far ahead for an outdoor performance is extraordinary.”

Plans for the future include expanding their G&S repertoire — Mike has set his sights on Iolanthe — as well as exploring other works outside the G&S canon. A Menotti triple bill is on the menu for this autumn, with a revival of Amahl and the Night Visitors alongside The Telephone and A Hand of Bridge.

Meanwhile, the Pirates and Mikado train continues to steam along merrily. After Waterperry, there are performances at Millets Farm, Frilford, and the Corn Exchange in Wallingford, with further bookings already stretching into 2016.

“The really nice thing about doing G&S is that you can pitch it to the whole family,” Mike says.

“That’s the really lovely thing about it. It’s good, accessible fun.”

The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado
The Amphitheatre at Waterperry Gardens, near Wheatley
Fri June 27 & Sat June 28, 6pm
Tickets and details: Visit www.operaanywhere.com