Director

★★★★★‘...a superb programme which displayed the multifaceted nature of human relationships – love, unrequited or returned, jealousy, rage, despair, misery, heartbreak and happiness – and placed it, surprisingly but extremely successfully, into the setting of an office party.’ - Scotsgay  

‘Exceptionally entertaining, humorous, musically and theatrically skilled, intimate and creative. I absolutely loved it.’ - Audience member in Lochinver, Autumn 2025


Water cooler moments, scheming co-workers and the leaving do that some would like to forget! The Office Party is a perfect opportunity to hear extracts from operas that may be new to you, against a backdrop of 1980s nostalgia that may be all too familiar...

The Office Party

The Barn, Banchory

Reconnect Regal Theatre, Bathgate

Cromarty Victoria Hall

Dalmally Community Centre

Dornie Community Hall

Dunlop Village Hall

Fraserburgh Leisure Centre

Gairloch Community Hall

Tron Theatre

Victoria Halls, Helensburgh

Orkney Theatre, Kirkwall

Lairg Community Centre

Newtonmore Village Hall

Newton Stewart Cinema

An Lanntair, Stornoway

Devonvale Hall, Tillicoultry

Wauchope Hall, Town Yetholm

Assembly Rooms, Wic

Laura Karpman’s opera Balls tells the story of the Battle of the Sexes tennis match of 1973 – a decisive victory for Billie Jean King and for gender equality.

Composer Laura Karpman, conductor Marin Alsop  and actor Emma Kennedy are the perfect team to bring this turning point in the struggle for women’s rights to a 21st-century audience. Karpman, composer of many acclaimed film and game soundtracks including American Fiction, The Marvels and Kung Fu Panda 2, is a fierce advocate for equality in the film industry. Marin Alsop has blazed a trail for women conductors, through a performing career studded with ‘firsts’ and as a mentor and educator. Emma Kennedy is a multi-talented writer-performer who has won awards for her books, radio shows, TV series and films.

Battle of the Sexes: Marin Alsop conducts Balls

Southbank Centre

Director

Emma Doherty

Events

Past events

Feb 3 - Mar 14, 2026

The Office Party · Scottish Opera

Nov 20, 2025

Battle of the Sexes: Marin Alsop conducts Balls · Philharmonia Orchestra

About

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