Balletboyz - England On Fire
It’s easy to land on pessimism when thinking about the title to BalletBoyz’ new work. England On Fire might be a frank observation of the current state of affairs made in exhaustion, or perhaps an assertion screamed with heavy lungs and desperation. “It's a deliberately provocative title,” says BalleyBoyz co-director William Trevitt. “There’s all the stuff we've all experienced in the last five, seven years with the Brexit vote which was a really profound shock to the arts, and everything that's going on locally and internationally.”
Everything – the list is exhaustive. Add to that the company’s disrupted 20th anniversary performance Deluxe in 2020, due to the pandemic – they mark their return to the stage with an apt reflection of past experiences and our current moment.
“England on Fire could have that connotation of everything is going to s***,” says co-director Michael Nunn, “but out of that, creativity thrives or survives.” Perhaps even despite of it, resilience leading to thriving. “It’s about the determination of art to survive and to flourish despite everything that's going on,” Trevitt adds. “England is on fire with all this potential.”
The new work takes its name from a book made up of English art from different epochs, with images curated by Stephen Ellcock and accompanying text by Matt Osman. Subtitled ‘A Visual Journey through Albion's Psychic Landscape’, the book is abundant with poetic visuals and observational texts about an ethereal, spectral isle that aims to reclaim Albion as an eternally inspiring and radical place. “It came from the bookshop at the National Theatre,” says Trevitt. “The cover caught our eye, and the title is very catchy, but we weren't looking for something to base a show around. But we kept coming back to the title and all the different inspirational triggers it contains, because it’s just hundreds of images.”
Photographs, oil paintings, portraits, ink paintings, sculptures and sketches all present a diverse and layered reflection of England through different epochs. Images that may not seem connected at first glance reveal deeper connected histories, as Nunn and Trevitt discovered through conversations with the authors. “The images are all over the place and yet they have something that ties them together,” says Trevitt, “look at them, absorb them, put them aside and write about what they made you think of. We've asked the same of the collaborators. Look at the book, absorb it, and maybe something in there captures your imagination. Then put the book away and see where it takes you.”
Ellcock’s curatorial approach seems to have inspired a similar approach in the commissioning process. Much like the authors, so too do Nunn and Trevitt reach into England’s eclectic landscape to curate a live theatrical world of artistic diversity. England on Fire is a collaboration between over 40 artists – choreographers, performers, directors, composers, and musicians – all carefully connected and paired together with assigned book chapters, titles, and images to inspire their creations.
“We asked ourselves, what would we like to see?,” says Nunn. “It's all based on our knowledge of the artists’ work. Holly Blakey has ‘Rebellion’ and if you've seen a lot of her work, it does feel quite rebellious, with a lot of energy and power in there. We gave Lucy Bennett ‘Water’ because we've seen a short film she had made which felt really soft and lyrical.” Previous and frequent collaborator Russell Maliphant returns with his unique style to put a stamp on ‘Enclosure’, which Nunn and Trevitt envisioned would best capture his choreographic essence. The flow of the evening also includes scores and live music from singer-songwriter Kami Thompson and post-punk band Gag Salon among others, sonically tying the chapters together.
“We tried to give them all a few sentences for a narrative structure,” Nunn adds. “A person's arrived somewhere, and they discover their surroundings. That's your chapter. You discover the person even as the person discovers these strange people performing weird rituals and so on. That's how it progresses.”
There’s a deep knowledge of each artist’s work, both new and returning collaborators. A level of trust is needed to forge these connections and invite artists to surrender to the process knowing that they and their work will be looked after. This seems to be a learning from the hiatus forced by the pandemic. BalletBoyz has a revitalised energy to forge community and champion solidarity. The company after all supported artists, freelancers, and staff throughout the pandemic.
“Some of the artists we're working with don't necessarily have the platform that they deserve,” Nunn continues. “I think it's interesting to put them in those environments or put them with people they wouldn't normally work with. This allows a lot of creative freedom and relieves some of the pressure coming out of the pandemic.” By creating a community of artists, Nunn and Trevitt spotlight the essence of the work they wish to convey. “We want to explore the idea of how one would break into a community that feels like it already exists and is impenetrable,” says Trevitt. “What does England represent if you if you're new to it? If you arrive without any instructions, how generous are we at welcoming people?”
England on Fire is full of imagination, risk, rebellion, community, and uncertainty, wrapped up in a bundle of controlled chaos. “We don't know what we're going to get,” Trevitt adds. What we will get, the two directors conclude, is a work searching for kindness. And what we deserve after a BalletBoyz hiatus is the raucous, enchanting, and disarming energy we have all come to miss.
This article was first published by Sadler's Wells
