Based on the 2005 film by Gus Van Sant, inspired by the final days of grunge legend Kurt Cobain.
Last Days, composer Oliver Leith and librettist Matt Copson’s cult opera that sold out in minutes on its premiere, returns to the Linbury Theatre 5 December 2025 – 3 January 2026. Inspired by the 2005 Gus Van Sant film of the same name, which charts the final days of a silent musician inspired by Kurt Cobain, Last Days is an introspective exploration of alienation, banality and silence amidst noise, exploring what it means to live, and to die.
British actor Jake Dunn makes his West End debut in the lead role of Blake. Best known for playing the role of Thomas Blancheford in the Disney+ series Renegade Nell, he has also appeared in the BBC’s acclaimed What It Feels Like for a Girl, and in the 2024 film William Tell, directed by Nick Hamm.
He stars alongside Edmund Danon (Housemate), Patricia Auchterlonie (Superfan), Mimi Doulton (Delivery Driver / Housemate), Kate Howden (Mormon / Housemate), Sion Goronwy (Groundskeeper) and Henry Jenkinson (Magician) all reprise their roles from the premiere performances. Jimmy Holliday (Private Investigator) and Zahid Siddiqui (Mormon/Housemate) make their Royal Opera debuts.
Leith’s distinctive style combines the orchestral score with mundane sounds – whistles, rustling bin bags, glass bottles, the pouring of cereal – to create an immersive sound landscape into which Blake can retreat. Copson’s fragmented libretto combines the voices of those who surround Blake – the Mormon missionaries at Blake’s door, his housemates, his auctioneer band manager – to viscerally explore his detachment and withdrawal from the world around him. Leith’s haunting score is conducted by Jack Sheen and Naomi Woo, and is performed by two of Leith’s regular collaborators, 12 Ensemble, a leading London string orchestra, and GBSR Duo, providing percussion and piano.
Last Days features a record played on set composed by Oliver Leith, Non Voglio Mai Vedere il Sole Tramontare, sung by Grammy-nominated songwriter, producer and singer Caroline Polachek. The limited-edition LP will be available to purchase in the RBO Shop.
Co-directors Matt Copson and Anna Morrissey both return to stage Last Days, with set design by Grace Smart and lighting design by Prema Mehta.
Photo credit: Lola Mansell
Pictured: Jake Dunn and Zahid Siddiqui
