HAILED as a very “hip party”, the alternative opera festival Grimeborn returns to the Arcola Theatre next week, for a fortnight of innovation, interpretation and inspiration.

Unlike its more prestigious cousin, Glyndebourne, you can leave your opera glasses at home, as all performances will be staged in the intimate surroundings of Arcola’s studio spaces.

Curated by Alex Sutton, a total of 26 companies from around the world will rip apart the classics, show raw new work and re-arrange modern music to really get to the heart of what opera can be about.

Highlights from the festival include Glenn Boulter’s An Unorthodox 1-2 (August 24), which investigates the aural environment of a football match; a new work by RSC composer Paul Englishby, The Spoils (September 3); a celebration of black opera singers, Why Don’t You Just Sing Jazz! (September 5), and a newly imagined work by innovative young theatre company Teatro Vivo, Hothouse (September 5), which includes a free tango lesson for the audience.

In addition, Jenifer Toksvig and award-winning composer and lyricist Conor Mitchell will create a new work in front of the audience’s eyes, in The Work of Art (August 28, 29), and works by Britten, Birtwistle, Dove, Poulenc, Mozart, Rossini, Handel and Copeland will also feature.

Grimeborn runs from Monday, August 24, to Saturday, September 5 at the Arcola Theatre, Dalston. Tickets: 020 7503 1646 or www.arcolatheatre.com (prices vary)