Dance Nation
4.4 (8) · Contemporary, New Writing
“Maybe this is the year, this is the moment, this is the dance where your lives will start!”
Overview
Somewhere in America, a revolution is coming.
An army of competitive dancers is ready to take over the world, one routine at a time.
With a pre-teen battle for power and perfection raging on and off stage, Dance Nation is a ferocious exploration of youth, ambition and self-discovery.
Winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and The Relentless Award, Clare Barron’s explosive new play Dance Nation makes its UK debut in summer 2018, directed by Bijan Sheibani.
Public Booking opens at 10am on Thursday 15 February.
Critic reviews
Bijan Sheibani’s terrific ensemble, gaslit by Brendan Cowell’s superbly creepy Dance Teacher Pat, make the dancers irresistible forces of nature
They nail the superficially flat, but deeply meaning filled dialogue. They make us care deeply about events and relationships that could be seen as trivial
This is a passionate, tender and defiant study of growing up in a confusing world
Barron’s real skill lies in writing a play that wittily shows how dance can be a source of liberation without ever quelling the tremulous terrors of adolescence
Clare Barron's teenage dance drama brilliantly captures the terror, power and magic of early adolescence
What it loses in wildness, it makes up for in care and its intimate moments – a shared sugar-fuelled potion, a secret given as a gift – are so tender and brittle they just about break your heart
A perceptive account of the pain and wonder of growing up, witty about the ways in which the young are programmed to behave, and memorably alert to the particular power of female adolescence
Ultimately, Dance Nation is a play that’s more about a feeling than a story
Best is Kayla Meikle’s magnificent rallying cry, an expletive-laden statement of intent that doesn’t ignore or deny self-doubt and fear but pushes through it
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