Katie Balmforth

Hansel and Gretel

Longborough Festival Opera | July 2026

Humperdinck's enduring reworking of the Grimms' powerful fairy tale, questioning the relationship between society and the children who are part of it. 

Conducted by Karen Kamensek and directed by Lucy Bailey, the production will feature international artists, combined with the acclaimed Longborough Youth Chorus and sung in English with Sir David Pountney's intelligent and witty translation.

Bliss

Edinburgh Pleasance Courtyard Grand | August 2026

Four sisters escape their tower and collide with the outside world. Where fairy godfathers rule and happy endings come at a cost, this hilarious, razor-sharp tale rewrites the concept of happily ever after.

With seventeen West End performers, electric vocals and a pop-rock punch, Bliss the Musical is a fearless new 80-minute show about ripping up the rulebook and the price of perfection.

A Small and Quiet Light

Minerva Theatre, CFT | August 2026

October 1943. In a small office on the Avenue Foch in Paris, a Gestapo interrogator is questioning a young woman who has been known by many different names: Babuli, Jeanne-Marie, Nora, Madeleine. As one of the secret agents of Britain’s Special Operations Executive – and the first female radio operator to be sent undercover into France – she has evaded capture far longer than most. But now she has been betrayed. As she faces the fate she has dreaded so long, memories crowd in – a beloved father, a thwarted lover, a gruelling journey to war, and an endless longing for her childhood piano. What has led her here?