Inspired by the much-loved children’s story by Nicola Davies and Laura Carlin, The Promise brings
together a team of talented opera makers to create a
multi-dimensional piece of story-telling theatre for families, which places community at its heart.

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"Green spread through the city like a song..."

More than just a performance, The Promise aspired to forge a more connected society, to promote the nurturing of kindness between people, and to create a group of forest guardians who go on to sow acorns and plant forests themselves.
 

The Promise is a story about a girl who lives in a mean, hard and ugly city. After a chance encounter with a strange woman in a dark alleyway, the girl transforms herself and the city she lives in, when she begins to plant seeds. Her growth and the blossoming of nature are mirrored perfectly in Daniel Saleeb's music, which brings together folk, electronics and opera to create a truly accessible and magical new piece for families.

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Part opera, part environmental event, The Promise, acts as a tool for communal healing and curates a space for social change, encouraging its audience to come together to take personal and collective action on the climate crisis. 

The Promise toured to five regions in the summer of 2023 visiting Cumbria, Tower Hamlets, Leeds, Milton Keynes
and Suffolk. We also led a number of planting projects to support our work; engaging children, families and
local communities in tree planting initiatives in their local areas.

The Promise tour was supported by Arts Council England, Walker Books, Cumbria Action for Sustainability,
Mila Charitable Trust, Three Monkies, Edith M Ellis Trust, Hadfield Trust, THAMES,
and it was developed in collaboration with Without Walls, Workington Nature Partnership, Community Forest Trust, Trees for Cities, Rosehill Theatre, Florence Arts Centre, Slung Low, Poplar Union, Pro Corda Leiston Abbey and IF: Milton Keynes. With the generous support of Victoria Robey, Dominic Wallis and Oliver Bradley