Kent Opera

Transforming lives through music and drama

Working with young people

Delivering restorative knife crime workshops

Creating Talking Head filmed narratives

To educate on the danger and consequences of knife crime

Our 2025 Campaign

Continuing our work with young people involved with knife crime, our 2025 Campaign "Bluntly Put" will deliver more workshops in the community and culminate in the production of a 2nd short film.

Knife Crime Campaigns

With Knife Crime a major concern our 2022 initiative fought “Weapons with Words” with a series of Knife Related Restorative Workshops which culminated in a "Talking Head" narrative.

Kofi’s Story

Our first Talking Head dramatisation of the real life story of a young man caught up in knife crime premiered on 19 December 2023 at the head quarters of The Prince’s Trust.

As a charity, we rely on funding and donations to enable us to continue with our work. We aim to reach and impact upon the lives of as many people as possible with our knife crime work additionally having a wider ripple effect on communities.

Utilising drama to transform lives

Kent Opera was England's first regional opera company, founded in 1969 to bring the finest performances of opera to enthusiasts living outside London. It ceased production in the 1990s, due to funding issues.

Since April 2016 Kent Opera the charity has worked hard to maintain the traditions of the original opera company in a variety of education and outreach projects. We support young performers and seek to bring the transformative power of music and drama to those at risk.

Our work pre-Covid took Shakespeare into several London prisons and culminated with the production of Hamlet in 2019 at The Westminster Chapel, Buckingham Gate, with a core team of actors working alongside participants from the drama workshops.

Post-Covid, in response to the alarming rise in statistics for knife crime, we have turned to the running of restorative knife crime workshops with young people in London. Aligning this with our theatrical heritage, the aim is not only for the direct benefit of those participating, we also seek to create real-life "Talking Head" short film narratives to be shared with a wider audience, exploring the dangers and consequences of carrying a knife. The first in this series was Kofi's Story.