Women of the Windrush
by Shirley J. Thompson

Through mesmerising song and archive film footage, Shirley J. Thompson’s one-act opera Women of the Windrush portrays inspirational narratives from the lives of women who travelled to the UK from the West Indies between the 1940s and the 1960s, when persons from those countries were invited by the British government to assist in the rebuilding of post-war Britain.

Women of the Windrush breaks the convention of weak characters and femme fatales prevalent in the operatic canon by conceptualising an artistic work about the so-called Windrush generation with strong female roles.

Compelling stories include those from a cricketer’s wife, a student nurse, a concert pianist and a new bride, all of whom relate their experiences of arriving and settling in England.

The arrangement for Soprano and Piano will be performed by Nadine Benjamin and Caroline Jaya-Ratnam.

This event is free to attend but booking is essential to secure your seat. Booking has now closed. 

The performance will take place at the Mulryan Centre for Dance, home of English National Ballet, in the Holloway Production Studio on the ground floor. The Mulryan Centre for Dance is located on London City Island, next to Canning Town Tube Station.

Holloway Production Studio
Mulryan Centre for Dance
English National Ballet
41 Hopewell Square
London E14 0SY

This performance is presented in partnership with Ballymore, Principal Building Partner of English National Ballet.

Women of the Windrush will also be performed at the following venues:

The Tabernacle, Notting Hill, Wednesday 19 July, 7pm
Buxton International Festival, Pavilion Arts Centre, Friday 21 July

A gripping work … celebrating human community and resilience

Opera Magazine

Excellently performed, mind-stretching … there are fascinating sounds aplenty

BBC Music Magazine

A pioneering, powerful and wonderfully dramatic composer

BBC Radio 3

Shirley J. Thompson is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary British music and was awarded an OBE for her services to music and is one of the composers chosen by HM King Charles III to compose music for the Coronation Service. Her many commissions include New Nation Rising, A 21st Century Symphony, originally to celebrate Her late Majesty’s Golden Jubilee in 2002, which later became the framework for the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony. The Symphony was later recorded by the RPO and conducted by the composer, making her the first European woman to have composed and conducted a symphony in the last 40 years.

Thompson’s output as a composer is wide-ranging, encompassing symphonies, ballets, operas and concertos as well as music for TV, film and theatre. She is a Trustee of English National Ballet.