Philip Glass’ music comes to London’s West End in puppetry show premiere

20 July 2026, 12:07

By Classic FM

@ClassicFM

‘Tao of Glass’ makes its London premiere in a mesmerising show combining music, puppets, and Taoist wisdom.

The meditative music of American composer Philip Glass is coming to London this summer, in the West End premiere of Tao of Glass at @sohoplace theatre.

Part-concert, part-performance, the show combines music, puppetry, and Taoist wisdom to ask one, central question: Where does true inspiration come from?

For this production, the original inspiration came from a dream, and manifests in a performance that marries ten meditations on life, death an Taoist wisdom with ten brand new pieces of music from Glass, presented by performer-director Phelim McDermott with an ensemble of musicians and puppeteers.

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Born in Baltimore, USA in 1937, Philip Glass is widely recognised as one of the great composers of the current era, known for his meditative, minimalist compositional style and best-loved for his classical works, including his Violin Concerto No.1 string quartets, opera Akhnaten, and scores for The Hours, Notes on a Scandal, and The Truman Show, in which he even made a cameo.

Glass commented: “I am pleased that Tao of Glass will receive its London premiere this summer. It’s always a pleasure to work with Phelim. Tao of Glass is a true theater collaboration, the culmination of many years of deep admiration and respect for each other. ”

Phelim McDermott added: “This show was devised through a deeply collaborative process – Philip and I playing together in downtown New York, riffing and discovering how music, story, and image could grow from the same source.”

Tao of Glass premiered at Manchester International Festival to great acclaim in 2019. It will appear at @sohoplace theatre in London’s West End from 25 July to 12 September, with tickets available here.