About

Trapped in an airless, dusty land of the living dead, UNDERWORLD is Vincent’s darkly haunting take on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth.

Eight athletic performers engage in a series of disconcerting, relentless rituals and beautiful vignettes to form constantly shifting, visually striking cinematographic images, formed with 150 chapel chairs and accompanied by a stunning soundtrack of rushing rivers, church bells and faint children’s voices by internationally renowned composer Gavin Bryars.

Originally commissioned by Leeds Canvas and devised with Phoenix Dance Theatre for OverWorlds & UnderWorlds in 2012, VDT restaged UNDERWORLD in 2015 as a 5 hour durational work / 2 hour production as part of 21 YEARS / 21 WORKS, a live and online collection of Artistic Director/Choreographer Charlotte Vincent’s film and production work that toured to Shoreditch Town Hall and Southbank Centre in London, Dance Xchange in Birmingham and Brighton Festival 2015.

Context – 2012 Production

A collaboration between Phoenix Dance Theatre and Vincent Dance Theatre’s Artistic Director Charlotte Vincent, originally commissioned by Leeds Canvas for the Artists Taking the Lead 2012 Cultural Olympiad project Overworlds and Underworlds.

UNDERWORLD was created for the longest, darkest, filthiest of the Dark Arches under Leeds Railway Station and seen by over 10,000 people over a weekend in 2012, draws on the myth of Orpheus & Eurydice and is inspired by the work of acclaimed artists The Quay Brothers.

Initially set in an airless, dusty land of the living dead, accompanied by 140 antique chapel chairs and a haunting, atmospheric soundtrack of rushing rivers, church bells and feint children’s voices by acclaimed composer Gavin Bryers, UNDERWORLD explores the art of not looking back. Eight of the UK’s finest athletic performers – Phoenix Dance Theatre – engage in a series of highly physical games and disconcerting rituals designed to pass time in an environment from which there is no escape.

UNDERWORLD is a durational live performance for unconventional spaces. UNDERWORLD is not easy to categorise – it is a site-specific live installation. It is punishing choreography. It is visual art. It is highly physical theatre. It is a series of dark, beautiful vignettes. It is robust, risky ensemble work. It is a piece that transforms the space over and over to form a series of striking cinematographic images.

Credits

Directed and Designed by

Rehearsal Director

Anna Williams

Performed by

Azzurra Ardovini, , , Patrycja Kujawska, Silvia Mercuriali, , Phil Sanger, Josh Wille, Greig Cooke

Composer

Gavin Bryars

Sound Design by

Mic Pool

Production Manager

Sound Technician

Elb Hall

Lighting Design

Jason Taylor

Videos

Explore this production

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A four minute interview with Artistic Director Charlotte Vincent talking about her large scale, durational work UNDERWORLD cut with the original rehearsal footage.
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Critical response and audience reactions to UNDERWORLD part of 21YEARS/21 WORKS from opening night at Shoreditch Town Hall in March 2015
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Hear some of the response to Charlotte Vincent's reworking of UNDERWORLD part of the 21 YEARS /21 WORKS Spring tour 2015.

Press

“‘Superb performances’ ****”

The Guardian, March 2015

“‘Contemporary dance fans should beat a path to her door’ ****”

The Observer, March 2015

“Vincent choreographs with such a specific attention to gesture, atmosphere and motive…a fully imagined world.’”

The Observer, March 2015

“Fluid and evocative. One of the most crowded arches!’”

Culture Leeds