LEO DOULTON

A thing that happens when you make a show is that, suddenly, a lot of people want to be your friend, and think you’re really cool. This...

OR: Forgive me, for I have become a LARPer. I have just spent a joyous weekend at The Smoke: a festival of Live Action Role-Playing...

This may make more sense after reading the similarly-broad previous blog post on a similar topic. I am 90% sure I’ve said some of this...

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that an opera company must want new audiences. The question is why. Here’s a few expanded...

Even in my lifetime, there’s been a shift in what people wear to the opera. Specifically, from ‘formal’ clothing to a greater acceptance...

An observation I suspect I’ve made before, but might as well repeat. There’s this weird thing in opera, theatre, and similar where we...

I am an opera maker, and realise the terrible truth: opera needs money, desperately, all the time. Let us assume that the chance the next...

Amid the inescapable World Cup coverage recently, I was often reminded of this XKCD comic: While an over-simplification, it does...

A quiet note to theatrical creators, after a few shows I’ve seen. A thought that occurs to me while my mouth is filled… With a crunchie...

Dear Historical Performance People, Please accept my apology in the face of your recent victory, after which it seems unlikely that the...

“The Audience Agency has just been sacked by ACE, for undisclosed reasons, and replaced with the far from non-profit PWC, which will be...

Hello. I’m an arts worker, and today I’m going to complain about people who are broadly speaking on my side. Because that’s what we do....

Keep reading. There’s a Frankenstein reference before the end. History is littered with dead operas. Der Stein der Weisen (to which...

I’ve been invited to discuss this a number of times by opera peers, and tried to hold my tongue so I don’t feel like I’m using a hot take...

To be absolutely clear: I am writing this in my freelance capacity. I am not representing any of the NPOs that I have and continue to...

The first part of the title is a claim I have made on this blog before. A lot. It’s a central part of my default analysis of wider...

This blog is part of a series on how I came to write Come Bargain With Uncanny Things (tickets available now!). If you want to read the...

Introduction You may have seen the news of the failure of the ‘Festival of Brexit’, at over £500 subsidy per head for a deeply unpopular...

A plausible scenario for the near future The climate crisis has continued on its current course, with rising sea levels and regular...

I have been through a lot of application processes. Lots and lots. Anything from Arts Council England to small local funds to whatever...