The BalletBoyz return to London with an ambitious project: England on Fire

The BalletBoyz return to the stage this winter with England on Fire at Sadler's Wells from Wednesday 8 – Saturday 11 November 2023.

England on Fire is inspired by the artbook of the same name by Stephen Ellcock and Mat Osman. The project will see over 40 collaborators – choreographers, composers, dancers and performers.

BalletBoyz founders, Michael Nunn and William Trevittsaid, “With England on Fire, we're doing what we love best: embracing the chaos of an eclectic group of collaborators without fear or inhibition. In pursuit of our lifelong ambition to redefine what performance can do, we have provided a stimulus to artists to explore the experience of the marginalised, and it has been exciting to see the diverse range of interpretations that have been created. 

England on Fire will be “an evocative journey into contemporary life” with ambitious visuals accompanied by live music from folk to punk (“and everything in-between”) and supported by a 3D immersive soundscape.

The production tells of a search for meaning among the challenges of life, modern, and ancient. Audiences are invited to get lost in elusive explorations of trust and betrayal, friendship and love, identity and loneliness, honour and redemption.

The book England on Fire came out last year; the publisher called it “a book about English art like no other”. The blurb reads, “Forget the tired rogues' gallery of lords and ladies, forget the tall ships and haywains. These images cut to the heart of England's psychic landscapes to portray an Albion unhinged, where magic and rebellion and destruction are the horses to which the country is hitched.”  The book's illustrations are of ancient chalk carvings and standing stones, as well as William Blake to Derek Jarman, and “present-day visionaries” such as Chila Kumari Burman.

This eclectic mix is reflected in Nunn and Trevitt's decision to bring together some of dance's leading choreographers for this one-off event including Edd Arnold, Lucy Bennett, Holly Blakey, Ola Ince, Shelley Maxwell, Russell Maliphant, Vidya Patel and Thick & Tight. 

Composers contributing to England on Fire include Gwilym Gold, Charlotte Harding, Keaton Henson, Cassie Kinoshi, Mukul and Joe Zeitlin.

And performers Gag Salon and Kami Thompson will appear alongside a company of exceptional dancers: Edd Arnold, Harry Alexander, Tania Dimbelolo, Benji Knapper, Roseanna Lindsey, Luigi Nardone, Folu Odimayo, Sophie Ormiston, Oxana Panchenko, Artemis Stamouli, Meghan Stevens, Kai Tomioka, and Holly Vallis. 

“We realised that we no longer wanted to second-guess every element of making new productions for fear of getting it wrong,” said Nunn and Trevitt. “Instead, we are following our instincts and presenting an extraordinary cultural event that exemplifies a confident England, on fire with talent, ambition, potential and rebellion. (But no cash).”

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.