The Barbican Centre showcases Professor Dr Shirley J. Thompson OBE’s opera Women of the Windrush

The opera depicts inspirational narratives from the lives of a variety of women who travelled from the West Indies to settle in the UK after the invitation from the British government for them to assist in the rebuilding of a broken Britan, following the Second World War. Through instrumental music and song, archive footage and video interweave filmed stories from a cricketer’s wife, a student nurse, a concert pianist and a new bride who all relate their experiences of arriving and settling in England. British soprano Abigail Kelly embodies the essence of the Windrush experience in this operatic re-imagining of Shirley J. Thompson’s 1992 film, Memories in Mind: Women of the Windrush Tell Their Stories. Dedicated to her Mother from the Windrush generation, the opera is a celebration of community, identity and ingenuity.

Photo: Soprano Abigail Kelly performing at the Women of the Windrush opera

The opera was also performed by pianist Melissa Morris and staging director Callie Nestleroth. The film was performed by Dollie Henry as the Windrush Women, with filmed interviews including Hyacinth Sinclair Thompson, a student nurse, Connie Mark, a cricketer’s wife, Merlin Walker, a young bride and Maxine Franklin, a concert pianist.

After the performance, Thompson took to the stage with the artistic director of the Barbican, Kirsty Harris for a Q&A session, allowing the audience to gain more insight into the creative and historical significance of Women of the Windrush, the opera. She discussed the importance of making the original dramatic documentary film in 1992, the intricate process of integrating the existing film with newer elements, including dual time periods, orchestral music and spoken word, her approach to representing the women’s experiences through diverse musical styles and how the language of 18th-century poets like Phillis Wheatley resonates with the opera’s protagonists.

Shirley J. Thompson is famous for having composed New Nation Rising: A 21st Century Symphony, commissioned for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. She is also one of 12 composers chosen by His Majesty King Charles III to compose new orchestral work for his Coronation Service in May 2023 at Westminster Abbey. Thompson was recently featured in an episode of BBC Radio 4's Profile series. Her output as a composer is wide-ranging, encompassing symphonies, ballets, operas and concertos as well as music for TV, film and theatre.

Shirley J. Thompson said: “The film, Memories in Mind: Women of the Windrush Tell Their Stories, is possibly the first artistic entity to commemorate settlers from the Caribbean during the post-war period who answered the call from the British government to come and rebuild a broken Britain. The mostly very young Caribbean settlers came to the UK from rich cultures with hope and eagerness to work. This ground-breaking operatic work builds on the original film, masterfully interweaving dramatic film, dance, talking heads, arias, archive film and instrumental music. It continues my Heroines of Opera Series that features virtuosic, powerful roles for women who are otherwise depicted as weak characters in traditional opera and thereby subverts operatic conventions. I am absolutely thrilled that world-leading venues such as The Barbican value the importance of my creativity as we've now toured the production to all the major opera houses nationally and internationally for the last three years.”

Professor Shirley Thompson’s opera directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10: Reduced Inequalities. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.  

Learn more about the University of Westminster’s School of Arts.