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Company number: 3724349
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Past programme
Showcases an eclectic range of fresh and interesting contemporary work, largely by emerging artists
SOLO
A noisy love song about anyone who's ever stood on the outside and shouted.
Mixing surreal storytelling, live noise and projection, SOLO pushes together and pulls apart the stories of people who have been placed on the edges of society.
Gameshow's latest project is a white-knuckle ride at break-neck speed through the upside-downs and inside-outs of Daniel Johnston, Captain Beefheart and Alan Turing. Jeremy Kyle's invited too. SOLO rants, kicks stuff apart and builds up a huge wall of noise before pulling it all down around your ears.
After the dust's settled, what's left behind is about standing out and fitting in, labelling and isolating, being loud and staying quiet.
Tickets for this performance are FREE as it is a work-in-progress but must be booked in advance and are subject to availability. Tickets are restricted to two tickets per booking. To book tickets, please email us on boxoffice@blueelephanttheatre.co.uk or call us on 020 7701 0100.
Ham & Passion
DeNada Dance Theatre present a gender-bending evening of seductive and provocative dance choreographed by Carlos Pons Guerra. Three short narrative works form this kitschy and filmic bill of contemporary dance with a very Spanish flavour- a true feast of meaty dance soaked in a salsa of passion.
From a dingy cabaret in Civil War Barcelona, where a drag artiste murders her fascist lover backstage, passing through a lustful duel of seduction between two machos, and ending with a divine apparition in a kitchen of 1950's Seville, Ham & Passion is an exhilarating, hilarious journey through the history and culture of modern Spain that promises to subvert the senses.
Performed by an international cast of dancers, to a soundtrack of Latin vintage classics and Manuel de Falla's El Amor Brujo, with stunning period costume and set by Ryan Dawson Laight and a perfect mix of dance, jamón and drama, these three explosive period pieces will excite adult audiences of all backgrounds.
Recommended age: 14+ due to partial nudity and suggestive imagery.
Photo: Joe Armitage
Reviews
Supported by
Instructions for American Servicemen in Britain
"It’s 1942 and a horde of Yankee servicemen have just arrived in England - where the locals speak a strange dialect, boil all their food, and talk endlessly about the weather. The Americans see the Brits as a strange race. Get ready to judge for yourself in a night of joyous laughter and downright silliness as a crack team of experts attempt to explain the rules of British life.
This rib-tickling new show for adults and families is from the creators of 'Winston On the Run' (★★★★★ WhatsOnStage) and 'Dr Brown Because' (★★★★ The Times, The Sunday Times, Time Out).
Inspired by the 1942 pamphlet given to GIs on their way to Blighty, the show will take the audience back to the British home front, where two American officers have been charged with explaining British life to their recently arrived countrymen. The problem is, they’ve only just arrived themselves! Will the plucky team succeed in explaining the quirks and customs of everyday British life? Or will Hitler’s propaganda split the allies asunder? The future of the free world hangs in the balance.
Adapted with kind permission from the Bodleian Library's publication Instructions for American Servicemen, 1942.
This is a free work-in-progress preview performance before Instructions for American Servicemen in Britain begins a national tour.
Recommended for ages 10+
Supported by
I Am
LCP Dance Theatre comes to the Blue Elephant with their Edinburgh preview of new dance production "I am".
LCP Dance Theatre draws awareness to human rights violations through dance and explores the sensual and spiritual journey of recovery for a trafficked victim. ”I am” is a new multimedia dance production from the award winning LCP Dance Theatre. Their previous hit show “Am I” was nominated for the Amnesty International Award for the best human rights based performance at Edinburgh Fringe 2014.
“I Am” seeks to explore the challenges facing victims on their road to recovery - through therapy and the support of loved ones. It tells the story of how they re-discover their stolen identities - inspired by the
true story of a couple who fell in love in their teens, and after some life changing experiences found each other again in their 70’s; This leads to them being able to finally forgive their abusers and reintegrate back into normal society.
'The impeccable execution and the power of the visual imagery is utterly paralysing. “Dance stops trafficking!” they advertise. For me, their dance stopped my heartbeat." '***** Threeweeks Fringe 2013 on "Am I"
"Their bodies seemed to inhale air and exhale this choreography, it came to them with such ease and you could feel the energy breathing from them" **** Broadway Baby Fringe 2014 on "Am I"
Reviews
Supported by
- LeSoCo
YOU LOOK TASTY!
The London Zoo Players are putting on a play. But with a tiger on the loose and their dedicated delicious cast nowhere to be seen, can the show still go on? And what is that growling...?
A carnivorous comedy for brave children aged 5+ and their keepers.
Starring John Henry Falle (The Beta Males; Sketchorama, Radio 4) and Harriet Kemsley (New Act of the Year finalist 2012;Traces, Paines Plough), directed by Fringe First Award-winner David Mercatali. Written by Aloysius Tiger, with help from Stewart Pringle.
**** 'We can expect to see Pringle writing Doctor Who and Sherlock well before the end of the decade' WhatsOnStage on playwright Stewart Pringle
'An enticing play for family audiences... David Mercatali's production... celebrates the power of storytelling' Guardian on Feathers in the Snow, from director Mercatali.
The 56
"Nobody dies at football matches in fires. It doesn't happen"
At 3.40pm on May 11th 1985, a small fire broke out in the main stand at Valley Parade football ground during the final match of the season. Within four minutes the wooden structure was ablaze. Fifty-four Bradford City supporters and two Lincoln City supporters lost their lives.
This unique theatrical experience provides a truthful retelling of stories of those involved in the Bradford City Fire. Adapted solely from real-life testimonies and interviews with witnesses, this piece of documentary theatre reveals solidarity, strength and community in the face of overwhelming tragedy.
Elefeet Dance Festival
When booking three shows at once, audience members are entitled to our Southwark Resident rate, our cheapest ticket!
Just add three Southwark resident tickets to your basket when booking, or call us on 020 7701 0100.
Herstory & The Other and Me
Herstory, by Zosia Jo, supported by Arts Council Wales & Torch Theatre, combines dance with verbatim theatre and spoken word to tell a story at once true and untrue, personal and universal - a love story with a painful twist, that has nothing whatsoever to do with love.
"Mature and compelling...a powerful testimony to survival and renewal...” -Resolution! review 2015 (can be part of the body of the description)
(Please note the subject matter of this solo may make it unsuitable for children 12 and under)
The Other & Me:
"We stand on one side...staring at the other side... thinking that we are right and the other is wrong. In the mirror...flip from the shock... that actually we stand... on both sides."
Mounir Saeed is a dancer/choreographer from Egypt. The Other and Me was created during a residency in Holland, performed in Cairo, and now sees its UK debut.
Click here for dates and bookings...
The Next Phase featuring Penny
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An evening of music, movement and poetry from AQ Arts and friends, featuring work in progress, 'Penny', choreographed by Andrea Queens.
This night will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions, with each piece focusing on the thoughts and feelings of closing an old chapter and stepping into a new one.
Click here for dates and bookings...
If You Leave
Can you stay true to yourself, when everything suggests you change?
201’s raw, contemporary hip-hop movement returns in If You Leave: a story of two people's broken encounter.
After acclaimed performances in New York and a sold out London debut at The Place, 201 Dance Company presents the full length production of If You Leave for the first time. Touching on themes of addiction, obsession, and the true meaning of commitment, choreographer Andrea Walker directs a cast of eight dancers in a fast-paced, intimate performance exploring the relationship of two young men.
Winner of the BDC Outstanding Award for concept choreography.
Click here for dates and bookings...
Bridging the Void
Film, dance and music interlace to create an immersive and mesmerizing sunrise experience inspired by the Native American saying Every Night is followed by Sunrise.
From darkness, through sunrise to dawn light, the performance unfolds around the audience, who are invited to wander, encounter and react to the production as it develops. Each person’s experience will be unique and personal.
‘A work which enlivens and awakens your senses… you will continue to discover it’
(Bryony Cooper, Dance Critic)
Recommended for ages 12 upwards
Click here for dates and bookings...
Once Upon a Midnight Dreary
Sonámbulas:
Sonámbulas is a collaborative exploration of the world of dreams. Three characters delve into the subconscious through dynamic, frenzied movement sequences; their stories and emotions becoming tangled in the sounds of live accordion. Sonámbulas take a trip into our subconscious where unrelated images and absurd stories exist.
Little Red Riding Hood:
“Little red riding hood was my first love. I felt that if I could have married her, I should have known perfect bliss” Charles Dickens
NonFiction Dance present Little Red Riding Hood, a new piece inspired by the Grimm brothers’ famous fairy tale.
We’ve all heard the fairy tale. The little girl in a red cape, her encounter with the evil wolf in a dark woods...The story has been narrated through centuries, capturing imaginations and inspiring fear in children and adults alike. But who was the girl hiding underneath the red cape? And how did the story really end?
Little Red Riding Hood explores the mysteries of this beloved character, re-examining her relationship with the wolf and re-imagining her fate.
You will never think of Little Red Riding Hood the same way again.
Click here for dates and bookings...
In Memoriam
In Memoriam is a reflection on the transformation which happens to people, their lives and their concept of normality during times of war. It is dedicated to women of the First World War - women who become the 'army behind the army'; women the bomb-makers, women the fighters, women who 'stayed behind', women addressed in thousands of letters and poems.
It is also a contemplation on war’s parallel realities, as history and events repeat themselves across space and time.
Inspired by war-time imagery and poetry of The Great War and performed by an exceptionally skilled group of dancers and musicians, In Memoriam brings together an explosive mix of flamenco and contemporary dance.
Click here for dates and bookings...
In Memoriam
In Memoriam is a reflection on the transformation which happens to people, their lives and their concept of normality during times of war. It is dedicated to women of the First World War - women who become the 'army behind the army'; women the bomb-makers, women the fighters, women who 'stayed behind', women addressed in thousands of letters and poems.
It is also a contemplation on war’s parallel realities, as history and events repeat themselves across space and time.
Inspired by war-time imagery and poetry of The Great War and performed by an exceptionally skilled group of dancers and musicians, In Memoriam brings together an explosive mix of flamenco and contemporary dance.
Supported by
Once Upon a Midnight Dreary
Sonámbulas
Sonámbulas is a collaborative exploration of the world of dreams. Three characters delve into the subconscious through dynamic, frenzied movement sequences; their stories and emotions becoming tangled in the sounds of live accordion. Sonámbulas take a trip into our subconscious where unrelated images and absurd stories exist.
Little Red Riding Hood
“Little red riding hood was my first love. I felt that if I could have married her, I should have known perfect bliss” Charles Dickens
NonFiction Dance present Little Red Riding Hood, a new piece inspired by the Grimm brothers’ famous fairy tale.
We’ve all heard the fairy tale. The little girl in a red cape, her encounter with the evil wolf in a dark woods...The story has been narrated through centuries, capturing imaginations and inspiring fear in children and adults alike. But who was the girl hiding underneath the red cape? And how did the story really end?
Little Red Riding Hood explores the mysteries of this beloved character, re-examining her relationship with the wolf and re-imagining her fate.
You will never think of Little Red Riding Hood the same way again.
Reviews
Press
Agony Art Platform on Sonámbulas’ work in progress showing at Chisenhale Dance Space, June 2014.
Bridging the Void
Film, dance and music interlace to create an immersive and mesmerizing sunrise experience inspired by the Native American saying Every Night is followed by Sunrise.
From darkness, through sunrise to dawn light, the performance unfolds around the audience, who are invited to wander, encounter and react to the production as it develops. Each person’s experience will be unique and personal.
‘A work which enlivens and awakens your senses… you will continue to discover it’
(Bryony Cooper, Dance Critic)
Recommended for ages 12 upwards
Please note: Tuesday night is sold out
Reviews
Supported by
Smother (Formerly If You Leave)
Can you stay true to yourself, when everything suggests you change?
201’s raw, contemporary hip-hop movement returns in Smother: a story of two people's broken encounter.
After acclaimed performances in New York and a sold out London debut at The Place, 201 Dance Company presents the full length production of Smother. Touching on themes of addiction, obsession, and the true meaning of commitment, choreographer Andrea Walker directs a cast of eight dancers in a fast-paced, intimate performance exploring the relationship of two young men.
Winner of the BDC Outstanding Award for concept choreography.
Previews: 7th & 8th August.
2for1 tickets: 10th & 11th August.
You can read an interview by LGBTQ Arts and Culture Review with Choreographer Andrea Walker here
Please note some of the songs in Smother contain explicit lyrics
Facebook: www.facebook.com/201dancecompany
Twitter: @201dancecompany
Instagram: www.instagram.com/201dancecompany
Reviews
Press
ResReview
ResReview
Supported by
The Next Phase, featuring Penny
An evening of music, movement and poetry from AQ Arts and friends, featuring work in progress, 'Penny', choreographed by Andrea Queens.
This night will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions, with each piece focusing on the thoughts and feelings of closing an old chapter and stepping into a new one.
PLEASE NOTE 'THE NEXT PHASE, FEATURING PENNY' IS NOW COMPLETELY SOLD OUT
Reviews
Supported by
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Herstory
Herstory
Herstory, by Zosia Jo, supported by Arts Council Wales & Torch Theatre, combines dance with verbatim theatre and spoken word to tell a story at once true and untrue, personal and universal - a love story with a painful twist, that has nothing whatsoever to do with love.
"Mature and compelling...a powerful testimony to survival and renewal...” Resolution! review 2015
Previews: 7th & 8th August.
2for1 ticket offer: 10th & 11th August.
(Please note the subject matter of this solo may make it unsuitable for children 12 and under)
Reviews
Supported by
Boy in Darkness
A Boy wanders into darkness, a land of broken things…
There he meets a goat, a hyena and a lamb with diabolical schemes…
The Boy escapes the oppressive Castle of his birthright on his fourteenth birthday. As he ventures into the unknown, his rebellion leads him on a descent to ancient alchemy and present danger. He must call on his wits to escape - or be trapped forever.
Storytelling and physical theatre intertwine in a bold, new stage interpretation of Mervyn Peake's novella 'Boy in Darkness', performed as a solo show by Gareth Murphy. Capturing a chilling adventure in the teenaged years of Titus Groan, hero of the celebrated Gormenghast trilogy, Boy in Darkness is a gothic fairytale underpinned by Peake's rich and powerful language.
The Blue Elephant continues to bring the work of one of the twentieth century's greatest writers to the stage with this original adaptation, following the world stage premieres of Mervyn Peake's plays The Cave and Noah's Ark.
Please note that seating for this production is a mixture of sitting on cushions on the floor and on chairs.
Performed and image of Boy reprinted with kind permission of the Mervyn Peake Estate c/o Peters, Fraser & Dunlop Ltd
Reviews
Southwark News
Press
Libby Purves, The Times on 'The Cave'
Supported by
Lewis Peake at Blue Elephant Theatre
In this exhibition by artist Lewis Peake we are presented with a series of alien creatures and futuristic landscapes. The subjects of his environmental paintings, inspired by mechanical shapes and organic forms, are partially obscured by what might be dust, pollution or planetary atmosphere. The two opposing forces, nature and technology also influence these pictures - how they compete and become enmeshed. The way they both clutch at an existence, behave erratically, occupying unexpected places and surviving in compromised states is constantly unnerving.
As well as using traditional media, many of these landscapes began as sketches drawn on his iphone whilst on the London Underground. These are then used as a base layer, painted over and textured using digital media.
Depicted in this recent series of creature sketches, we meet personified animal hybrids with altered physical features. They are moulded out of Earth’s inhabitants but have been tampered with and given warped anatomy. The challenge with these beasts is keeping the familiar animalistic features while also incorporating a sinister alien quality.
The exhibition can be viewed before and after performances of Boy in Darkness, and by appointment during office hours on weekdays. Please call 02077010100 to arrange to see it.