Michael Wolters, commissioned by Stan’s Cafe

‘The Voyage’

PRS for Music Foundation: Tell us the story of how and why you joined forces with the performers you are working with on this project.

Michael Wolters: It’s so rare when you meet people you can collaborate with without having the feeling of having to make compromises. If you find those people you just have to hold on to them.

PRSF: How are you going to approach creating your new work? What kinds of creative input will the performers and community you are working with have on your work?
MW: Right now this minute, I have absolutely no idea, but as I base my work solely on the circumstances of every project, everyone involved will have an impact in some way.

PRSF: Who do you hope to reach through the creation and performance of this work and what do you hope they’ll take away with them?
MW: I hope to reach some people who want to see it. I hope some people will engage with it.

PRSF: Where do you draw your inspiration and influences? Which creator – musical or otherwise – do you most admire?
MW: Everything has the potential to inspire me… really everything, but I honestly do not admire anyone. Never have done. Sometimes I go through short phases when I admire someone on a smaller scale… currently I admire Richard Ayres for having written “In the Alps”. I admire my boyfriend for being able to make excellent pastry.

PRSF: Which Olympic and/or Paralympic Games will you be seeing in 2012? What was your best/favourite sport when you were growing up?
MW: Synchronised Trampolining as my niece will probably be competing in it.

A message from commissioning organisation Stan’s Cafe

The Voyage is a twelve minute long opera in two acts. The piece, a collaboration between the composer Michael Wolters and theatre company Stan’s Cafe, is about the constructed nature of nationality in a mobile world and takes the dynamics of emigration and immigration – departure and return as its dramatic substance. The piece is tied to the Olympics though the narrative of a mythological hero who leaves home, travels overseas to face trials and returns a hero. The show’s most striking feature is the dynamic relationship with the audience. Mounted on castors, the seating bank is designed to roll slowly 20m to and from the action. The Voyage will be the second collaboration between Michael Wolters and Stan’s Cafe, whose radical theatre productions have been acclaimed around the world.