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Opera North - Dead Man Walking

Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally
Sat 20 Mar 2027 at 7:00PM
Theatre Royal, Nottingham
Main Auditorium
Tickets
Sat 20 Mar 2027
7:00PM
Tickets

  • Show times are subject to change and published where available. 

Priority Booking for Friends of ON: Tuesday 5 May at 10am

General On-sale: Thursday 14 May at 10am

Tickets £23 to £81.50

Based on a true story from death row.

Imprisoned for a horrific double murder, Joseph De Rocher asks Sister Helen for spiritual guidance as he awaits execution on Death Row. Despite the misgivings of the sisters of her mission and members of the prison staff, Helen agrees to his request. Caught between the pain and grief of De Rocher’s family and the families of his victims, Helen attempts to lead De Rocher to a confession of his terrible crimes, whatever the emotional cost to herself. 

Dead Man Walking is based on the memoir by Sister Helen Prejean (as was the 1995 film starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn). It has become one of the most frequently performed operas of the past 25 years. This co-production with English National Opera, Opera North and Finnish National Opera won Best New Opera Production at the Olivier Awards following its November 2025 performances with ENO, and now comes to audiences in the North with Opera North. 

This is a co-production with English National Opera and Finnish National Opera. 

[Olivier Awards winner roundel – in Hightail]

Part of

Age Guidance: 18+

Running time: 3 hours, including an interval, Doors: 6.00pm

Pre-Show Talk: Sat 20 Mar, 6.00pm – 6.30pm in the Nelsons Studio

Contains adult themes including depictions of rape, murder, violence, execution by lethal injection and intense grief.

Sung in English with English subtitles

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Under 30s Members
Tickets £15. Max two per customer. Stalls & Upper Circle only.  Please register with Opera North in advance to access these tickets. Find out more here.

New to Opera
Tickets £23. Max two per customer. Stalls & Upper Cirlce only. Please register with Opera North in advance to access these tickets. Find out more here.

Under 18s
Tickets £13. Collect at the box office. To purchase these tickets you must be 18 or under at the time of booking. You may be asked to show your ID on doors to confirm your age.

Registered Unwaged
Standby Ticket for £25 on any available seat from 6pm on the day of the performance. Book in person at the box office.

Access
Disabled customer pays in full, carer/PA goes free. Sign up to our ARR scheme here.

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Prison guard is watching an inmate do push ups Zoom in Two prison guards are escorting an inmate through a cell door Zoom in A lady is stood alone holding a bag, an inmate can be seen above in their cell Zoom in Two women are stood with each other, one is holding onto the other's hand Zoom in A woman and a vicar are stood beside a parked car Zoom in A general is sat on a seat holding their hat Zoom in A general is sat on a seat with a woman who is holding a photo frame. There are two people sat behind them Zoom in An inmate wearing handcuffs is being pulled away by prison guards. A lady is stood on the other side of the table watching Zoom in There are two nuns and three people stood with each other, one of the people is looking down Zoom in A visitor and a inmate are stood facing each other, there is a prison guard in the background Zoom in There are two people, one is comforting the other as they cry Zoom in An inmate is being pulled away by two prison guards as the visitor watches on Zoom in There are two people in a room with nuns and children, it looks to be a happy scene Zoom in There are a group of inmates behind a cell door and there are two guards either side and people stood above the inmates Zoom in
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The Times
“Contemporary opera at its most compelling”
The Times
“Contemporary opera at its most compelling”
The Times
“Contemporary opera at its most compelling”

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