MEDIATHEK

Tom Lane wrote the opera FLATPACK during his time studying for a Masters degree in composition at the University of Berlin. Originally the opera was called "Abenteuer im Einrichtungshaus", and received several workshop performances - in Berlin, Hamburg and Wembley. After he moved to Ireland, he joined forces with director Conor Hanratty and they founded Ulysses Opera Theatre in early 2012. Their first project was a revised and expanded version of the opera, now called FLATPACK, for Dublin's Fringe Festival in 2012.

For the production, the company took over Dublin's historic CHQ Building, on the banks of the River Liffey. The space was ideal for the architecture of this opera, which requires multiple spaces for the first three scenes, which take place simultaneously on a loop. The audience is divided into three groups, and experiences the three scenes in order. As the audience watches one scene, they are simultaneously hearing the other two - creating their own experience of the opera from the pieces presented. For the second half of the performance, the whole audience regroups in a new space, where scenes take place simultaneously.

The production in Dublin was created with help from IKEA, and production values were particularly high. It was a runaway hit at the Fringe Festival, and was a critical and commercial success. It spearheaded a big renaissance for opera among young Irish creatives, and Ulysses Opera Theatre continue to create impactful and provocative works for Dublin.