Spare a thought for Amy J Payne, the gutsy mezzo-soprano who plays the title role in Opera North’s Pass the Spoon. Divas, of course, are used to leaping from castle walls or being swept away in avalanches but seldom is a singer required to be swallowed whole by a monstrous gourmand. Payne plays June Spoon, the vociferous host of a TV cookery programme, and whether or not she will be “passed” or, alas, be turned into excrement is the 11th-hour dilemma in this frankly bonkers show.
The idea was cooked up (pardon the pun) back in 2008 when Irish composer David Fennessy and director Nicholas Bone hooked up with David Shrigley, the visual artist famous for his distinctive, darkly humorous line drawings and witty captions. Described as “a sort-of opera,” it premiered at Glasgow’s Tramway in 2011.
