Breathe
The Five Arias That Saved My Life
Breathe is an intimate, voice-led one-woman theatre piece combining storytelling and opera, created and performed by Katy Lees — one of the UK’s longest-living survivors of mesothelioma — and co-written and directed by Amy Phillips.
Performed at close range, the show reframes opera as intimate, emotionally immediate and deeply human. Five arias form the musical spine of the piece, each creating space for a single emotional state to be fully experienced before giving way to the next.
The work is designed for small venues and attentive audiences, with minimal staging and a clear dramatic structure. Its power lies not in spectacle, but in presence, stillness and sound.
Breathe is a one-woman show for anyone who has ever needed to breathe through something difficult.
Breathe Team
KATY LEES – SOPRANO
Katy Lees is a singer, singing teacher and choir director. As a singer she toured extensively in Europe, North America and the UK.
After cancer diagnosis and treatment interrupted her career in 2006, she realised that her true vocation lay in helping others to discover their own potential and love for music and singing.
In true reciprocity, seeing others enjoy their singing encouraged Katy to explore singing and performing again. She started studying with Charlotte Xerri at Voice Your Potential and with Amy Phillips at First Act.
Breathe is a culmination of what she has learnt over the last 19 years and is dedicated to anyone trying to make lemonade out of lemons.
AMY PHILLIPS – DIRECTOR
Amy Phillips is a Director, Theatre Practitioner and Actress. Over a 30-year career she has worked extensively in theatre, television and film.
Amy has been the Artistic Director of the Lantern Arts Centre since 2018. Her LAC directing credits include: The Crucible, Our Town, A Bunch of Amateurs, Harvey, Hay Fever, Treasure Island, Blue Stockings, Hey Kid Hey Goat (also at the Riverside Studios) and Christmas pantomimes Treasure Island and Jack and the Beanstalk (which she also wrote). She also runs a popular adult acting course ‘First Act’.
Amy is thrilled to be working with Katy Lees on Breathe, a singer she has long admired, even more so now she appreciates her extraordinary courage and humility.
