Shadowball

Jazz composer Julian Joseph and librettist Mike Phillips's jazz opera tells the fast-paced story of the 1930s Negro League baseball players and their jazz compatriots struggling to achieve their dreams, in a time of segregation. Inspired by the era of Ellington and Armstrong, the swinging score offers a lively evening for all the family. Performed by singer Cleveland Watkiss and a cast of Hackney schoolchildren, music is provided by The Julian Joseph Quintet. (A special fundraising performance for Hackney Music Development Trust.)