Behind every stitch lies a hidden price.

Behind every stitch lies a hidden price. This sharp, modern look at the garment industry shows workers laboring in silence while wealth gathers far from them. Greed here takes a cold, corporate shape that feels endless and worldwide. Palmer’s driving music and Chatterton’s raw text reveal the hidden cost of the things we buy and the lives that bear that weight.

Sweat is a bold and socially charged a cappella opera by composer Juliet Palmer and librettist Anna Chatterton. At a moment when labor rights are rapidly deteriorating and union-busting remains widespread, Sweat offers a pointed and necessary artistic expression. The opera unfolds in a garment factory where unsafe working conditions, long hours, and fear of dismissal rule everyday life. A new worker arrives and dares to advocate for collective action. Instead of progress, the workers are locked inside the factory when a red-carpet fashion moment sends consumer demand soaring.

One act | Sung in English (mostly) | Expected duration is 75 minutes

Performance Dates 

July 15 - 26

The Fringe schedule will be published closer to the summer. 

Tickets will be available directly through the Winnipeg Fringe in late June.