West Malvern Ring
15 August 2025 to 17 August 2025
West Malvern Social Club, Malvern, WR14 4AY
This four opera cycle has been condensed into an evening’s entertainment which, as well as delighting audiences, honours the memory of a local man. Musical Director Judith Sanoon tells us more.
The idea began two years ago in The Brewers Arms, where I was chatting with Rob Rankin, Treasurer of the Social Club and a tireless champion of the village. I thought Rob was joking when he turned to me and said that we should stage an opera at the club. This became a running joke between us, and we decided it had to be Wagner’s Ring Cycle, an epic 15 hours long! The banter continued until, too suddenly, Rob passed away last year. A group of us decided the best way to remember Rob would be to honour his idea and so this August we will perform West Malvern Ring. If Rob is out there in the cosmos I think he would be delighted that it’s actually happening!
I was thrilled to be joined by Tim White as Creative Director and Liz Bridges and Shameem Sanoon as Producers. Musicians and actors were variously coaxed, cajoled and convinced to join the growing throng and rehearsals of the adapted work, featuring an original score and script, have been underway since the beginning of the year.Many other local people are acting as stage managers, make-up artists, technicians, and with the sorting out of costumes and props.
This is not opera for the purist – I have to confess that for the most part it’s not sung! We have created a work that combines some of the evocative music of Wagner, from the poignant expression of love to the destruction of the gods, with a tale of epic proportions, interspersed with many nods to West Malvern life. The Ring of the title is the catalyst for a succession of deaths, dalliances and dastardly deeds and therefore we would suggest that it is best suited to teenagers and adults.
We are donating profits to the Malvern Hills Community Foundation, set up by Laurie Gregory a few years ago. Laurie started an arts festival in West Malvern, and although not the same, we think our performances also bringvarious arts together, something that Wagner himself did. Staging an ‘opera’ in a social club is a test of ingenuity and has become all-consuming, but the project is by turns humorous and poignant, and endlessly rewarding!
Performances take place at West Malvern Social Club, starting at 7.30pm on 15th and 16th August, with a matinee performance on Sunday 17th August at 2.30pm. Book early as tickets are selling fast, and it might be sold out by the time you read this. For details, go to westmalvernring.com