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Gary Clarke Company WASTELAND
In 1994 hundreds of coal miners hung up their pit boots as Grimethorpe Colliery was destroyed, along with the tight-knit working-class community that surrounded it. WASTELAND, Gary Clarke’s sequel to COAL, looks at how two generations coped in this era of radical upheaval. As we see one generation grind to a halt, we follow the next into the 90s illegal rave scene, where derelict warehouses and abandoned work spaces became home for a new-found community of music and dance.
Bringing together Clarke's vivid physical dance language performed by a company of exceptional dancers, a community cast of singers, brass musicians, archive film footage, a powerful rave soundtrack and unique art work by Jimmy Cauty (co-founder of The KLF), WASTELAND dives head first into a gritty story of loss, hope, escapism and survival.
REVIEW QUOTES:
"Blisteringly fierce" ★★★★ Mary Brennan, The Herald (Scotland)
“A poignant and thrilling portrait of the British rave scene” ★★★★ Eliza Gearty, The Skinny
“Brilliant” ★★★★★ Mark Brown, The Herald on Sunday (Scotland)
“Wasteland is a truly wonderful piece of dance-theatre: humane, politically charged, by turns funny and sad.” ★★★★★ Anna Winter, The Stage
“an ambitious, carefully crafted, visceral dance-theatre treatment of a crucial time in the history of modern Britain, that more than justifies its belief in dance as a vehicle for ideas and social commentary.” ★★★★ Teresa Guerreiro, Culture Whisper
“It feels important, somehow, that this moment in dance history is recorded so faithfully and with such love.” ★★★ Siobhan Murphy, Dance Tabs
“dance taken at a barnstorming, frantic pace with a sharp political edge to boot… its picture of alienated youth rising from the ashes and finding both escape and a sense of purpose in the hedonistic release of rave culture is curiously uplifting.” ★★★★ Keith Watson, Metro
“This is a powerful, accomplished piece of dance theatre and a timely reminder of the social consequences of political actions.” ★★★★ Jonathan Cash, The Reviews Hub
Age suitability | 14+
Warning | Contains some strong language, strobe lighting, loud music, haze and smoke effects
Wasteland is co-commissioned by:
Nottingham Playhouse, Tramway, Cast, Dance4, The Place, DanceXchange, Gulbenkian, Art31, Contact Theatre, Grand Theatre Blackpool, Civic Barnsley, Yorkshire Dance, with additional support from Lawrence Batley Theatre, Northern Ballet, Leeds Dance Partnership, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Jon Kinsey Hairdressing, Stirling Pit Women and public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
Photography Joe Armitage | Graphic Design Up for Grabs
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Contact, Oxford Road, Manchester, United Kingdom
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