I would be here if I could: The Mirrorbox
An interactive installation at the Royal Opera House sharing messages from people with ME and Long Covid who can no longer visit places they love. Listen, reflect and leave a postcard in response. A free, interactive experience exploring connection, absence and accessibility.
Dates
Location
Approximate timings
Open to the public between 12pm and 6pm. The exhibition will open early at 11am on Sunday 13th September for visitors with access needs.
Guidance
Suitable for ages 12+
The Mirrorbox messages recall special times and places often inaccessible to the sender. The installation is not suitable for children under 12 or for those who are emotionally vulnerable.
Discover
The Mirrorbox is a free interactive sculpture touring locations across the UK. It carries messages from people living with ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) and Long Covid to places they love but can no longer physically reach.
Step inside to hear a message from Charlotte W, who has chosen the Royal Opera House as the place she loves but can no longer get to. Listen, reflect and leave a postcard in return, becoming part of an ongoing conversation between who is absent and who is present. This exhibition is free to attend.
If you aren’t able to make it to the Royal Opera House in person, you can read or listen to the message online and participate by sending a digital postcard to Charlotte.
About Mirrorbox
The Mirrorbox is part of I Would Be Here If I Could – the UK’s largest collaborative social art project, co-created with people living with ME and Long Covid. The Mirrorbox carries messages from people living with one of these conditions to places they love but can no longer physically reach.
At each location, visitors can step inside and listen to a message from the person who has chosen that place, and after listening, they are invited to write a postcard in response. Around 2 million people in the UK live with ME or Long Covid. Both conditions leave many people housebound or bedbound for months, and often years, due to barriers including limited mobility, fluctuating energy and sensory challenges. This excludes many from public places and spaces. They are just some of the many people who face barriers that limit their ability to take part in cultural, social and public life. These barriers may arise through chronic illness, disability, caring responsibilities, age, geography or other life circumstances.
By bringing together remote and on-site audiences through listening and response, the project makes visible the absence of people from public spaces. It invites reflection on what it means to be connected to a place, and how greater awareness and understanding can help reduce the isolation so many people experience.
The Mirrorbox Journey began last year, visiting message locations across Bristol and the top of Glastonbury Tor. The Royal Opera House is the first stop on the second leg of the Mirrorbox Journey – see upcoming locations here. Every message sent for locations across the UK can be seen and heard on the project message map.
Access and Resources
The exhibition is located in the Paul Hamlyn Hall, which is accessible by stairs or lift. Visitors may need to travel across smooth tiled, wooden and carpeted flooring. Directional signage will be available on the day.
A central element of the exhibition is an audio recording, which visitors can listen to using headphones. A transcript is also available on a tablet screen inside the Mirrorbox, and the message can also be accessed via QR codes at the exhibition. Mirrorbox Journey is designed for both in-person and remote participation. If you are unable to visit the Mirrorbox, you can listen to messages online and send a digital postcard in reply. For detailed access information about the Mirrorbox installation, please see the project website.
Between 11am and 12pm on Sunday 13 September, the exhibition will be reserved exclusively for visitors with access needs.
Seated Tours will run alongside the Mirrorbox Installation on 12 and 13 September. These 45-minute seated tours feature costumes, props and images from previous productions and are designed to be accessible and inclusive. Find out more.
For further information about access at the Royal Opera House, please see our Accessibility page or Visitors Guide (PDF, 12 MB).
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