An extraordinary blend of theatre, live orchestral performance, and planetarium experience

THE EXOPLANETS is an extraordinary blend of theatre, live orchestral performance, and planetarium experience, co-produced by City of London Sinfonia and theatre company curious directive.

‘kaleidoscopic brilliance’ — The Telegraph (on City of London Sinfonia)

‘superb theatre with all synapses firing’ — The Guardian (on curious directive)

A cosmic story of love, loss, and the power of curiosity.

At the heart of THE EXOPLANETS is composer Audrey, rebuilding her life after bereavement by opening her home to seven foster children. Each child becomes a planet of their own, reshaping her life with unique energy, challenges, and joy. Over three decades, their lives unfold in tandem with a growing symphonic suite, a musical tribute Audrey composes to the galaxies they build together.

Inspired by the discovery of planets beyond our solar system, the music and storytelling of THE EXOPLANETS is based on real data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Building on the legacy of Holst’s The Planets, this production ventures further, to celestial bodies no one could have imagined a century ago. The music brings together new compositions by seven visionary composers — Theo Whitworth, Anibal Vidal, Robin Haigh, Blasio Kavuma, Samantha Fernando, Zhenyan Li, and Pauchi Sasaki — each exploring the sound of a different and newly discovered exoplanet.

THE EXOPLANETS is a human story of everyday life mapped onto the cosmos. It is a love letter to imagination, to collaboration, and to the infinite pull of the unknown.

This is not just music. It’s a journey across space, time, and the human heart.

A City of London Sinfonia and curious directive co-production, in association with Norwich Theatre and Norfolk and Suffolk Music Hub, with support from the Conceptual Image Laboratory (NASA).