Angel’s Bone – Fight Director
I worked as Fight Director on the UK premiere of Angel’s Bone, the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera by Du Yun and Royce Vavrek, presented by English National Opera (ENO) at Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, Manchester.
Directed by Kip Williams, this groundbreaking production was staged in the round on a continuously revolving stage, combining live theatre with real-time cinematic storytelling. Three on-stage camera operators captured the action for four giant LED screens, ensuring audiences experienced every moment of the performance from multiple perspectives.
My role involved choreographing and directing all scenes of violence, as well as overseeing the safe execution of lifting, carrying, and complex physical interactions throughout the production. The unique staging presented an exciting challenge, requiring every moment of physical storytelling to work both for the live audience surrounding the stage and for the cameras capturing intimate close-ups in real time.
Angel’s Bone is a powerful and unsettling exploration of exploitation and human trafficking, and this innovative production demonstrated how fight direction can support both theatrical and cinematic storytelling within a live performance environment.
