Alarmed Productions is Sound the Alarm's creative laboratory for original theatrical works that explore the expressive power of music and sound as the foundation of storytelling.
Blending music, theatre, movement, and immersive design, each production is created to illuminate a pressing social alarm, inviting audiences into powerful shared experiences that inspire awareness, reflection, and conversation.
Rather than being defined by a single musical style, every work embraces the genre—or combination of genres—that most authentically serves its story. From opera and classical music to contemporary, electronic, folk, jazz, rock, or experimental soundscapes, each production seeks the musical language that allows its themes to resonate most deeply with audiences.
Exploring the Theatre of Music & Sound.
HOLOCENE
ALARM: Environment
A sort of odyssey of our modern times—our already-aging modern times—hurtling toward a future that is practically obsolete. A radical, tender, and clownish artistic act that confronts our collective depression, affectionately embraces the full scope of our cynicism, and stares down our incurable inertia—all to help us regain some momentum, and to remind us that our tragedy is beautiful, and that everything plays out within it.
ARTISTIC TEAM:
SHHH!! ENSEMBLE: Ottawa based piano/percussion duo.
L'IMMÉDIAT: France based avant-garde theatre company.
AN ABSURDLY DRAMATIC
CONCERT EXPERIENCE.
Scheduled to premiere in 2028.
ANGEL'S BONE
ALARM: Human Trafficking
Angel's Bone is an all-Canadian production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera by Du Yun and Royce Vavrek that follows two fallen angels as they become victims of child and youth trafficking and sexual exploitation. Through a bold fusion of multimedia design and an eclectic musical language—including medieval chant, electronic soundscapes, punk-inspired arias, and contemporary classical music—the production confronts one of society's most urgent human rights issues. Developed in collaboration with a social context committee of youth workers, survivors, lawyers, human rights advocates, sex workers, and artists, each performance is accompanied by community conversations that encourage awareness, dialogue, and action.
"Top 3 Toronto Productions Operas of 2024"
ARTISTIC TEAM:
SOUND THE ALARM: Vancouver based music/theatre company.
TURNING POINT ENSEMBLE: Vancouver based contemporary music ensemble.
ARRAY MUSIC: Toronto based contemporary music company.
LOOSE TEA: Toronto based music/theatre company.
THE PULITZER PRIZE OPERA BY DU YUN AND ROYCE VAVREK.
IT IS ENOUGH
ALARM: Mental Health
Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre collaborated with Early Music Vancouver (EMV) and their Artist in Residence, Cree-Metis baritone Jonathon Adams to create a live multi-media performance around the reclamation of spirit and mental health through one of Bach's most glorious cantatas: BWV 82 - “Ich habe genug” (It is Enough).
ARTISTIC TEAM:
SOUND THE ALARM: Vancouver based music/theatre company.
EARLY MUSIC VANCOUVER: Vancouver based early music organization.
PACIFIC BAROQUE ORCHESTRA: Vancouver based period ensemble.
Recorded Live: August 5, 2021 - view via link
BERLIN: THE LAST CABARET
ALARM: The Fragility of Freedom and the Rise of Authoritarianism
This original cabaret production premiered at the 2020 Push Festival, and celebrates the subversive power of art and offers a warning to those who would take freedom for granted.
The Weimar era (1918-1933) was a time of cultural ferment in Germany. Steps were taken toward sexual freedom and progressive reform, and there was a spirit of liberation and innovation in the arts. Much of this was connected to the cabaret scene, and in this show.
City Opera Vancouver, in association with Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre, pays loving homage: the production takes us back to a time when liberation came in conflict with fascism.
ARTISTIC TEAM:
SOUND THE ALARM: Vancouver based music/theatre company.
CITY OPERA VANCOUVER: Vancouver based opera company (lead producing organization).
PUSH INTERNATIONAL PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL: Vancouver based.
Premiered to sold out audiences in January 2020.
ACIS + GALATEA
ALARM: Safety of the 2SLGBTQ+ Community
This contemporary reimagining of Handel's Acis and Galatea reinterpreted the timeless pastoral opera through the love story of two women whose relationship is threatened by the possessive and oppressive Polyphemus. While remaining faithful to Handel's extraordinary score, the production explored themes of identity, intolerance, and the enduring struggle for the freedom to love without fear. By reframing a centuries-old work through a contemporary lens, the production revealed the continued relevance of its story, celebrating love's resilience in the face of prejudice and power.
listed as "Vancouver's Best Opera's"
of 2017 - Vancouver Classical Music
ARTISTIC TEAM:
SOUND THE ALARM: Vancouver based music/theatre company.
RE:NAISSANCE OPERA : Vancouver based opera company.
ENSEMBLE NYLANDIA: Helsinki based music ensemble.
Premiered September 2017.
DRAGGING PIAF
ALARM: 2SLGBTQ+ Mental Health
Dressed in drag as Edith Piaf, tenor Frederik Robert sings the songs of this iconic French singer. The live performance provides the soundtrack to an accompanying silent film by Alan Corbishley. The concert consists of twelve songs and twelve corresponding movie scenes depicting the slow physical and emotional disintegration of Ed, a Vancouver drag queen.
ARTISTIC TEAM:
SOUND THE ALARM: Vancouver based music/theatre company.
VANCOUVER QUEER ARTS FESTIVAL: Vancouver based.
Premiered in Kamloops in 2014, then at the Vancouver QAF in 2016.