Ghost of the AI Empire: Interactive Japanese Sci-Fi Opera with Noh
About this Event
A Japanese ghost story set in the year 2100, sung live in a Manchester concert hall, with a masked Noh dance inside it. At points in the show you take part from your phone, and the room votes on how it ends.
🏆 Shortlisted for the Fedora Digital Prize 2027
⭐ "The beginning of a new operatic form." British Theatre Guide
⭐ "I never thought I could be part of an opera. Now I know I can." Audience member
👘 NOH THEATRE MEETS OPERA
A Japanese ghost in a dream act. The world premiere of The Covenant (music by Ryan Morgan), performed with Yūrei (music by Atzi Muramatsu). Both operas created and written by Alexandra Huang-Kokina, inspired by Yotsuya Kaidan, Japan's most famous ghost story.
🤖 "I AM AN AI, BUT I WAS ONCE HUMAN."
The year is 2100. Nations wage relentless wars through AI, and two tech giants dominate: Britain's Commonwealth AI and Japan's Shogun AI. Her spirit lingers on as a formidable AI presence, poised between vengeance and redemption. Will she lay waste to the empire, or rise above its treachery?
📱 KEEP YOUR PHONE ON
Raise the storm from your phone. Vote on the ending, and the cast plays what the room chose. You'll be told when to pick up your phone. Nothing to download. Optional and anonymous, no camera on the audience, and just watching is fine too.
Every note sung live. No AI voice. No performer's voice trains an AI.
🌱 NEVER BEEN TO AN OPERA?
You're exactly who we made this for. Two hours, no interval. Sung in English and Japanese, with English surtitles. A concert hall off Oxford Road.
👥 WHO TO BRING
· The friend who pauses films to argue about what should happen next
· A date you want to surprise
· Anyone who says opera is boring
PEOPLE BEHIND THE PROJECT
Artistic Director, Creator, Dramaturg & Librettist: Alexandra Huang-Kokina
Producer & Technical Director: Arturs Kokins
Artistic Co-Director: Nick Bond
Composer (“Covenant”): Ryan Morgan
Composer (“Yurei”): Atzi Muramatsu
Electroacoustic Composer: Harry O’Brien
Projection Designer: Arturs Kokins
Set & Prop Designer: Chloe Wyn
Produced by Operactive Arts
PRE-CONCERT TALK
Starts: 19:00 (duration 25 mins). Optional for ticket holders. Entry allowed at any point in the talk.
Professor Michelle Phillips (Creative Manchester Director, University of Manchester)
Dr Courtney Chrimes (Lecturer in Fashion Business & Marketing, University of Manchester)
Dr Alexandra Huang-Kokina (Bicentenary Music Fellow, University of Manchester)
CAST
Luke Terence Scott (Jacob)
Natalka Pasicznyk (Ohana)
Olivia Moss (Oiwa)
Vladyslava Yakovenko (Osode)
John Ieuan Jones (Father)
Cliona Cassidy (Board Member 1)
Ryan Morgan (Board Member 2)
Joe Ashmore (Board Member 3)
Alexandra Huang-Kokina (Piano)
Amy Jolly (Cello)
Eleanor Shute (Violin)
Edinburgh sold out. Manchester has not noticed yet.
📍 THE NIGHT
📅 Friday 6 November 2026
🕖 Doors 18:30 · Pre-concert talk 19:00 (optional, about 25 minutes) · Performance 19:30, ends about 21:30
📍 Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall, Martin Harris Centre, Bridgeford Street, Manchester M13 9PL. University of Manchester campus, off Oxford Road.
🎫 £15, £10 concessions. Unreserved seating.
🚸 Age guidance 12+. Dark themes and scenes some may find unsettling, loud amplified sound
PS: Bring a charged phone.
Agenda
🕑: 07:00 PM - 07:30 PM
Pre-show discussion
🕑: 07:30 PM - 09:30 PM
Live Performance
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 10.00 to GBP 15.00
