Following on the popular success of its latest production, Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby, which saw audiences in excess of 100,000, Rambert returns to the stage with Death Trap, a brilliant evening of dance devised by Ben Duke (of Lost Dog).
Opening at York’s Theatre Royal in October 2023, Death Trap toured to Bath’s Theatre Royal and London’s Sadler’s Wells in November 2023, and will go back on the road this Spring, touring to a total of 10 theatres including a visit to Paris’ Théâtre de la Ville.
Bringing together Goat (2017) and Cerberus (2022), Death Trap continues Rambert’s focus on storytelling and characters, and features awe-inspiring performances by Rambert’s diverse company of dancers, with live music by an on-stage band.
Death Trap is infused with Duke’s irresistible, stylish and accessible sense of dance theatre, is darkly funny, and packed with originality.
In Cerberus, we enter a world where dance is literally a matter of life or death. An ingenious adaptation of the Greek tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, it is a bittersweet musing on myth and mortality, complete with funeral couture. Goat is inspired by the spirit of Nina Simone, with iconic songs including “Feelings,” “Feeling Good” and “Ain’t Got No / I Got, Life.”
Both pieces were recreated for this tour by Duke and Rambert dancers Adél Bálint, Angélique Blasco, Simone Damberg Würtz, Max Day, Conor Kerrigan, Joseph Kudra, Naya Lovell, Musa Motha, Aishwarya Raut, Antonello Sangirardi, Alex Soulliere, Dylan Tedaldi, Jonathan Wade, Archie White and Seren Williams.
Helen Shute, CEO and Executive Producer of Rambert, says, “We’re thrilled to be taking Rambert back on the road. And this new evening in collaboration with Ben Duke is a great opportunity to connect with new and returning audiences across the country and beyond.”
Artistic Director of Rambert Benoit Swan Pouffer says, “Our dancers come from varied backgrounds, bringing with them a breadth of skills shaped by different experiences, and Ben’s unique sense of theatre allows them to explore characterisation through storytelling in their individual and collective performance.”
And of this new collaboration with Rambert, Duke says, “I first worked with Rambert in 2017, and while I, and the company, have changed a lot since then, I feel like this history gives me a sense of partnership. The work I make is always inspired by and made with the performers, and it is a privilege to find myself in a room with these exceptional artists. Their diversity of background means that they bring such a richness of experience into the space, and it is their talent and generosity that really make this work.”
For tour dates and tickets, visit rambert.org.uk/whats-on/death-trap.
