Step into Luca Silvestrini’s highly anticipated new dance-theatre adaptation of Mozart’s opera, The Magic Flute.
Join the fun-loving bird-catcher Papageno and the lost Prince Tamino as they set out to rescue Princess Pamina, uncovering the truth about the mysterious Queen of the Night and the powerful leader Sarastro.
The Magic Flute is brought to life with Protein’s playful mix of dancing, storytelling, singing and stunning visuals, with set and costume design by Dick Bird, rearranged Mozart and new music by composer Frank Moon, creative captions/video design by Douglas Baker and lighting by Rachel Shipp.
Every performance is welcoming with integrated creative captioning, while select relaxed shows also feature BSL interpretation and audio description.
Following Protein’s award-winning family show The Little Prince, this enchanting new tale of love and friendship shining through darkness is for children aged 5+ and their grown-ups.
Co-commissioned by DanceEast and The Place, The Magic Flute is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
With funding from Cockayne Grants for the Arts, a Donor Advised Fund, held at The Prism Charitable Trust; Garrick Charitable Trust; The Lucille Graham Trust; Royal Borough of Greenwich; The Golsoncott Foundation.
Supported by Woolwich Works, Pavilion Dance South West and Dance City.
Reviews
"You feel you are in complete safe hands, both with Silvestrini and the cast, their skill worn lightly in this gently upbeat production that's completely charming." The Guardian
"This is a joyful piece of theatre, perfect for the whole family, with moments of gentle audience participation, beautiful performances, and a satisfying, uplifting ending." Theatre&Tonic
The dancing is clever, the acting makes the plot easy to follow even for the smallest of guests... this festive season, may I recommend this show? Loureviews
"I would certainly recommend Protein’s The Magic Flute to parents who want an intelligent and entertaining treat for their children, and indeed for themselves, during the festive season. It certainly makes a change from the glut of Nutcrackers…" London Unattached
"Silvestrini has created a piece that blends dance, dialogue and some bursts of live opera singing. It’s aimed at children, but its charms are far from age-restricted." The Stage
"Mozartian magic in minature, The Magic Flute is a triumph of ingenuity." The Reviews Hub
"The star of the show was the charismatic Donna Lennard who handled a plethora of roles. Not only did Lennard move between comedy and serious drama superbly in the twinkling of an eye but she also sang the Queen of the Night’s soprano aria with great emotional clarity. It was a rather beautiful highlight." Gramilano
"Protein Dance’s 75-minute chamber version is an absolute cracker and already down as a must-see for next year." LiftedLeg
"Like any opera lover I have seen many Magic Flutes - this one will live long in my memory." Plays To See
"A visually rich and ambitious dance-theatre adaptation, featuring puppetry, shadow play and operatic singing, The Magic Flute is creatively retold for a younger audience." Everything Theatre
"This is a show for everyone .. one of the best shows I have seen." Audience member
"A story made accessible for all ages." Audience member
"The children were entranced." Audience member
"Excellent performance, excellent staging, and use of props." Audience member
"Engaging, entertaining, hugely enjoyable." Audience member
"Opera made accessible to children." Audience member
"Luca is a great storyteller and manages to weave dance/opera/acting together so creatively. This production of the Magic Flute was excellent. And so great to have the famous arias in there." Audience member
Nathan is a South African-born dancer, choreographer, and musician with a diverse international portfolio. He has collaborated with renowned companies and choreographers across the UK and abroad, including Cape Dance Company, Agudo Dance Company, Gecko Theatre, Ballet Nimba, ACE Dance and Music, Mzansi Cymru, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Gugulethu Ballet Project, Rematch and Protein Dance. In 2016, he co-founded MANACAN with Ciara Baldwin. Since its inception, the company has toured extensively, creating and performing original work across a range of platforms. In 2019, MANACAN received the Next @ Martha Graham Award for their piece Rooted in New York City. In 2022, they premiered Survive with South Africa’s Jazzart Dance Theatre, which won the Woordfees Award for Best Performance. Nathan has been working with Protein since 2017, delivering and dancing in Real Life Real Dance projects, Protein 21 and (In)visible Dancing.
Jacob Lang received his formal dance training at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, before going on to complete a Master’s Degree at London Contemporary Dance School. Jacob has since danced with renowned contemporary dance companies and choreographers including James Wilton Dance, Humanoove, Holstebro Dance Company and Yukiko Masui. The Magic Flute is Jacob’s first production with Protein.
Donna Lennard trained at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and is a keen advocate for contemporary music. Her operatic roles include Frog in ‘How the Whale Became’ (Philips, ROH), Selene in ‘Tycho’s Dream’ (Styles, Glyndebourne), Alice in ‘Airborne’ (McDowall, Nova Music Opera) and Voice 1 in ‘Voices of the Sands’ (Michael Betteridge). In concert, Donna has performed with the Kensington Symphony Orchestra, Bushey Symphony Orchestra, and the Warwickshire Symphony Orchestra. Other stage work includes ‘Mr Burns’ (Anne Washburn), ‘May Contain Food’ and ‘The Little Prince’ (Protein Dance). She is the co-director of dance theatre company Society of Strays CIC.
Faith Prendergast began dancing at the age of 3 at a local dance school in Colorado, USA. She practiced many forms of dance growing up including ballet, tap, flamenco, hip hop, jazz and modern. As a teenager, she took an interest in contemporary dance and improvisation went on to study at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance under the direction of Summer Lee Rhatigan. It was as she was living in SF that she was exposed to world class dance teachers and was able to watch quality performances from companies touring from Europe. From there, she went onto study at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance and earned a 1st class BA (hons) degree.
Since completing her studies, Faith has gone on to freelance in dance, theatre and opera in the UK and Europe working with and choreographers including Laurent Pelly, Simon McBurney, Oona Doherty, Damiano Bigi/Alessandra Paoletti (Fritz Company), Ballo Arthur Pita, Protein Dance (Luca Silvestrini), Jodie Cole, Sarah Shorten (Stacked Wonky), Sally Marie (Sweetshop Revolution), Joel O’donoghue, Leila McMillan and Viv Wood. Additionally, she has helped to found Margate Movement Artists: a group of movers in Margate, Kent dedicated to bringing dance to the region.
Thanks to: all primary school children who took part in action research workshops in London, Ipswich and Bournemouth; Antony Daly Luna and Isis Clunie for their contribution during research and development; Ben Glover for video and creative captioning consultancy; Simon Palmer for puppetry consultancy; everyone at The Place, DanceEast, Dance City, PDSW, Woolwich Works, Longfield Hall; Brendan Keaney; Lucy Bayliss; Rachel Shipp for building the set; Yasmin Estanislao for additional costume making; Liam Loudy.
For Promoters
The Magic Flute is touring in 2026/2027.
For more details and bookings contact Sarah Trist at
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