Edfringe2026:Operotica: Lovers in Every Lifetime

★★★★★

Operotica: Lovers in Every Lifetime

This is absolutely the funniest erotica I have ever seen! The premise is simple: two souls are doomed to fall in love with each other—and reach orgasm—in every lifetime. Performed by two talented opera singers and comedians, Amber Reeves and Dani Croston, the show follows their sapphic love story across different eras of history. There is also a “host” (Dan Wye), who fills the interludes with a perfectly timed series of jokes. Before you even realise it, a drag show has somehow been seamlessly and wonderfully woven between these operotic episodes.

I love how the show subverts two genres: opera and burlesque. Opera so often portrays heterosexual love and has historically been dominated by male-centred stories—even when some of its most famous characters are women, like Carmen, they were still created by men. Burlesque, too, has often been shaped around male desire. Finally, someone has noticed this and given us a wonderfully queer version of both!

The show is brilliant in every aspect, from the fully professional singing to the carefully designed costumes. (I would recommend sitting in the front row so you can appreciate all the little details and tricks hidden in them.) At the end, when the keyboard player stood up and I finally realised they were wearing fishnet stockings as part of the full outfit, it blew my mind. Despite the professional quality of their voices, the performers manage to sing in a way that is both beautiful and saucy, making me realise for the first time just how erotic the operatic voice can be.

Usually, comedy and eroticism somehow work against each other: once something becomes too funny, it stops being sexy, and vice versa. But this show achieves the perfect combination that you probably never knew you had been looking for your entire life.

If there is one thing that could be improved, it is simply this: could it be longer? I can imagine these two souls travelling through even more eras, lifetimes, and fantasies while somehow continuing to be this funny.

The production feels minimal yet intricate, making so much out of relatively little. I just hope that one day it becomes two hours long, so I can see it performed in a real opera house. Could it happen? Please?