The Sour Thunder tells a double-sided story about language and migration, blending autobiography and speculative fiction. The storyexplores the role of geography in identity and the idea of language as a technology.

Mirroring the dual nature of the narrative, the opera was simultaneously performed in and webcast from two spaces (the Yale Cabaret and the Yale Afro-American Cultural Center) in 2002. In each performance space, audience members could watch the webcast of the other space but could not hear the sound. Characters moved between the two spaces throughout the performance and the audiences of each venue switched spaces at intermission. The projected webcasts of the alternate performance spaces represented the memory of the places the characters (and perhaps also the audiences) had left behind. From the website, viewers could download mp3s from the opera, watch a live, split screen webcast, or read an interactive libretto.

This net.opera features the website design of John Vega and the hypertext eMixes of Houston Baker, Christian Campbell, Coco Fusco, Duriel E. Harris, Nalo Hopkinson, John Keene, Ferentz Lafargue, Wahneema Lubiano, Dawn Lundy Martin, Paul D. Miller aka Dj Spooky, and Ronaldo V. Wilson. The live performance featured Iona Rozeal Brown, Marcus Gardley, Peter Macon, and Laurie Woodard, with set design by Torkwase Dyson, lighting design by Tan Falkowski, costume design by Camille Assaf, choreography by Tim Acito, and scent design by Iona Brown.

The Sour Thunder was generously supported by Benjamin Slotznick, David Deitch and Yale Media Services, the Yale Cabaret (artistic director, Tamila Woodard), the Afro-American Cultural Center at Yale, and the Yale Digital Media Center for the Arts.