A new chamber opera, Pleasure, a family tragedy played out against the backdrop of a gay nightclub will be staged for one night only at the Playhouse on 4th May 2016. The production is Liverpool-born composer Mark Simpson’s first opera. Produced by Opera North, The Royal Opera and Aldeburgh Music, it will be performed by a cast of four singers including soprano Lesley Garrett.

The opera tells the story of Val, who works as an attendant in the toilets in Pleasure, a hedonistic gay club in the north of England, presided over by the Bacchanalian drag queen, Anna Fewmore. For years, Val has been both a shoulder to cry on and a confidante. She is much-loved but viewed as an enigma. Why is she still there? Why does she never leave? When Nathan, a beautiful and unpredictable young man, arrives in Pleasure and leaves a gift for Val, it marks the beginning of an emotional and violent night.

One of the U.K.’s most exciting young musical talents, Mark Simpson was born in Liverpool in 1988. He won B.B.C Young Musician of the Year as a clarinettist in 2006 and also, that same year, received the accolade of B.B.C Young Composer of the year – the only individual to have won both competitions. He was recently named Composer in Association with the B.B.C Philharmonic, and his new work for orchestra and chorus, The Immortal, will premiere at Manchester International Festival in July 2015, again set to a libretto by Melanie Challenger. Pleasure is his first opera.

The production features a libretto by British writer and poet Melanie Challenger whose poetry collection Galatea was partly inspired by Mark Simpson’s short tone poem A Mirror-Fragment.

Tim Albery directs, with set and costume designs by Leslie Travers; a creative pairing whose previous work together has included award-winning productions of Otello (2013) and Giulio Cesare (2012) at Opera North, and Aldeburgh Music’s open-air staging of Grimes on the Beach (2013) marking Benjamin Britten’s centenary. Tim Albery has also directed numerous productions at the Royal Opera House, including Der fliegende Holländer and Tannhäuser.

Pleasure will be performed by a cast of four singers including soprano Lesley Garrett as Val, alongside the Manchester-based music ensemble Psappha, conducted by Nicholas Kok.

Tickets for Pleasure will go on sale when the Everyman & Playhouse’s 2015 Autumn / Winter Season is announced in June.