Film: Luca Truffarelli
Music: Jamie xx
“Art needs passionate artists and there is no doubt that she is one”
Award-winning choreographer Oona Doherty makes her Sadler’s Wells debut as she returns to Dance Umbrella Festival following critically acclaimed productions Hard to Be Soft – A Belfast Prayer (named Best Dance Show of 2019 by The Guardian) and Hope Hunt and the Ascension into Lazarus (also included as part of Sadler’s Wells and BBC Arts’ Dancing Nation series).
Using her distinctive and visceral choreographic style, Doherty creates an unsettling atmosphere for latest work Navy Blue as a dark night descends and a group of 12 dancers generate a sense of dread, trapped within a destructive algorithm. Featuring music from Sergeï Rachmaninoff and Jamie xx this compelling new piece considers where we have been and where we are heading, as it urgently appeals for societal change.
“A deep Dark Navy Blue.
Existential Dread, and Dancing.”
Doherty is a Big Pulse Dance Alliance selected artist and Associate Artist at Dublin Dance Festival. Her ambitious work has drawn international attention and in 2021 Doherty was named winner of the Venice Biennale Danza Silver Lion Award. Doherty has collaborated with numerous artists, recently creating music videos with Jamie xx and Rubber Bandits.
A Big Pulse Dance Alliance co-production, co-produced by Dance Umbrella and Sadler’s Wells
Post-show talk on Friday 21 October 2022
with Oona Doherty and Dance Umbrella Artistic Director, Freddie Opoku-Addaie. Free for same day performance ticketholders.
BSL interpreted.
Credit Sinje Hasheider and Dajana Lothert
Reviews +
“One of the most exciting voices in dance right now”
“Each dancer is endlessly interesting to watch”
“This complex and energizingly philosophical piece is unmissable”
“Doherty is a rare, talented and original artist who maybe could just change the world, if not the world of dance, given time”
“Doherty never sacrifices dance to philosophical inquiry, but skilfully combines the two in well-rounded works, the import of which cannot be ignored”
Cast & Creative +
Creative
- Oona Doherty with the collaboration of the Dancers
Choreography - Jamie xx
Music collaborator - Bush Moukarzel
Writer Collaborator - Nadir Bouassria
Video Projection Artist - John Gunning
Lighting Design and Technical Director - Lisa Marie Barry
Stage Manager - Oona Doherty and Lisa Marie Barry
Costume Design - Gabrielle Veyssiere
Management and Production - Jenny Suarez and Virginie Reymond
Production and Administration
Dancers
- Amancio Gonzalez Miñon, Andréa Moufounda, Arno Brys, Kinda Gozo, Hilde Ingeborg Sandvold, Joseph Simon, Mathilde Roussin, Ryan O'Neill, Sati Veyrunes, Thibaut Eiferman, Tomer Pistiner, Zoé Lecorgne, Magdalena Öttl
About the Artists +
Oona Doherty
Photo Luca Truffarelli
Oona Doherty has been performing dance-theatre internationally since 2010 with companies including: TRASH (NL), Abattoir Fermé (BE), Veronika Riz (IT), Emma Martin/ United Fall (ROI), Enda Walsh and Landmark Productions (ROI).
Doherty’s ground-breaking choreography has earned her multiple awards and prestigious opportunities both in Ireland and abroad. Her solo work Hope Hunt and the Ascension into Lazarus (2015) earnt her Tiger Dublin Fringe Festival Best Performer Award in 2016 and won the Total Theatre Dance Award at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017. Her first group piece Hard to Be Soft – A Belfast Prayer was voted no.1 UK dance show of 2019 by The Guardian. In 2019 she created Lady Magma: The Birth of a Cult and 2021 saw her first collaboration with (La) Horde, collective at the helm for Ballet Nationale de Marseille (FR).
Oona Doherty was awarded the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale Danza in 2021.
Credits +
Navy Blue is a creation of Oona Doherty, produced by OD Works
Co-produced by Kampnagel International Summer Festival (DE), Sadler’s Wells (UK), Théâtre National de Chaillot (FR), La Biennale di Venezia (IT), Maison de la Danse (FR), Belfast International Arts Festival (UK)
A Big Pulse Dance Alliance co-production, co-produced by Dance Umbrella (UK), Dublin Dance Festival (IR), Torinodanza Festival (IT) and Julidans (NL); presented by Tanz im August/HAU Hebbel am Ufer (DE), Zodiak – Side Step Festival (FI), ONE Dance Week (BG), International Dance Festival TANEC PRAHA (CZ), New BalticDance (LT), CODA Oslo International Dance Festival (NW)
Funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation, co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union
Supported by Kulturstiftug des Bundes (DE) and the support of the Direction régionale des affaires culturelles d’Ile-de-France – Ministère de la culture (FR)
Venue & Access Info +
Venue
Address
Rosebery Avenue
Clerkenwell
London EC1R 4TN
Sadler’s Wells has been located in Islington, near Angel, since 1683. The site has two theatres; Sadler’s Wells Theatre and the Lilian Baylis Studio.
Getting there
By Bus
Numbers 19, 38 and 341 travel from the West End to the theatre’s own bus stop. Many buses travel from Waterloo, Liverpool Street, Euston and Kings Cross stations to the Angel.
By Tube
Angel (Northern Line City Branch) is a 250-metre walk from Sadler’s Wells. Trains run every few minutes northbound to Kings Cross and Euston, and southbound to Bank and London Bridge.
By Bike
There are plenty of bike racks outside and opposite the theatre. There are several Cycle Hire stations within 5 minutes walk.
By Car
There are no turns into St. John St from Pentonville, City and Goswell Roads. The easiest route is from Pentonville Road into the west side of Claremont Square and down Amwell Street.
Access information
Sadler’s Wells commits to making their spaces and artistic programme accessible.
Visit Sadler’s Wells website for detailed access information.
Watch Jamie xx and Oona Doherty's 2020 collaboration
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