Preview: Charge at Newcastle Dance City

Motionhouse announces tour of new production ‘Charge’

Electrifying new multimedia dance-circus comes to the North East

Charge

Newcastle Dance City

Friday 3^rd - Saturday 4^th November 2017

Touring company Motionhouse has announced the dates for the premiere tour of its brand new production Charge.

Photo: Chris Nash

Premiering in October 2017 at Warwick Arts Centre, Motionhouse’s new multimedia dance-circus show is inspired by energy: from the electrical charge that sparks human life, to the beating of our hearts and the memories we make. Six performers use the highly physical dance and acrobatics now synonymous with Motionhouse to delve deep into the human body, tracing the incredible story of energy in our lives.

Digital projections create a world on stage where dancers and images interact seamlessly, bringing to life stories of energy in our own bodies, humans as energy manipulators and the Earth’s weather systems.

Photo: Chris Nash

Charge is the third element of Kevin Finnan’s ‘Earth Trilogy’, developing on themes explored in Scattered (2009) and Broken (2013) about our relationship with water and the Earth.

After opening at Warwick Arts Centre from the 4th - 7th October 2017, the production will go on to tour extensively, with the first tour booked in 25 venues in the UK and Europe (dates for first leg of tour listed below). The production will continue to tour throughout 2018 and beyond.

Motionhouse’s Artistic Director, Kevin Finnan MBE, who was Choreographer and Movement Director of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, is at the helm of the project, working closely with the company and an established creative team to bring to life his vision for Charge.

Photo: Chris Nash

The unique set for the show, created in collaboration with long-standing design partner Simon Dormon, who has designed and built the sets for the majority of Motionhouse’s productions, will create an extraordinary world on stage where dancers and digital imagery interact seamlessly.

Charge is a unique collaboration between art and science: Motionhouse is working with science partner Professor Frances Ashcroft and her team from the University of Oxford on the role of electricity in the human body, to support the creative and choreographic process, putting science at the heart of artistic practice.

“Charge is an incredible collaboration between artists and scientists,” said Finnan. “Bringing multiple disciplines together to create one piece of work is really exciting for me. I find the science that inspired the show fascinating and I want to use this to create a show for audiences to enjoy – but which also makes them think and feel about the role energy plays in our lives. I want to use dance and the onstage world I am going to create to give audiences new perspectives on energy and some of the science behind it.”

Photo: Chris Nash

Charge will be supported by an education programme including online resources, teacher packs and workshops to enable young or non-scientific audiences to explore the science that inspired Charge.

Following on from the extraordinary success of Scatteredand Broken, Charge will be a must-see for dance, circus and theatre lovers, but also for those interested in art, digital imagery, motion graphics and graphic design, as well as those interested in the science behind the production.

Motionhouse is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. Charge is supported by Warwick Arts Centre, The Rothschild Foundation, and TippingPoint Stories of Change.

The Charge creative team:

Charge is created and directed by: Kevin Finnan MBE

Motionhouse performers: Martina Bussi, Daniel Massarella, Junior Cunningham (Rehearsal Director), Chris Knight, Luka Owen, Alasdair Stewart, Naomi Tadevossian and Rebecca Williams

Set design by: Simon Dormon with construction by Oblique

Lighting design by: Natasha Chivers

Digital imagery: Imanol Garaizabal and Karlos Gomez, Logela Multimedia

Music by: Tim Dickinson and Sophy Smith

Sound design by: Tim Dickinson and Logela Multimedia

Costumes by: Brooke Roberts-Islam and Moin Roberts-Islam, BR Innovation Agency

Production management: Austin Lawler at CUE

Photo credit: Chris Nash

On The Web:

www.motionhouse.co.uk  

@MotionhouseDT

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Motionhouse

Autumn 2017 - Tour & Ticket Details:

4 – 7 Oct 2017 7.30pm	PREMIERE Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, UK	024 7652 4524 www.warwickartscentre.co.uk
11 Oct 2017 7.30pm	Cast, Doncaster, UK	01302 303959 www.castindoncaster.com
17-18 Oct 2017 7.30pm	Home, Manchester, UK	0161 200 1500 www.homemcr.org
28 Oct 2017 7.30pm	Auditorium Ferrari, Camposampiero, Italy	+39 366 6502085 teatroferrari.it
31 Oct 2017 7.30pm	The Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury, UK	01684 295074 www.rosestheatre.org
3- 4 Nov 2017 7.30pm	Dance City, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK	0191 261 0505 www.dancecity.co.uk
7 – 8 Nov 2017 7.30pm	Octagon Theatre, Yeovil, UK	01935 422 884 www.octagon-theatre.co.uk
10 – 11 Nov 2017 7.30pm	Theatre Royal, Winchester, UK	01962 840440 www.theatreroyalwinchester.co.uk
16 – 17 Nov 2017 7.30pm	Connaught Theatre, Worthing, UK	01903 206206 www.worthingteatres.co.uk
23 – 24 Nov 2017 8.00pm	Jersey Opera House, St Helier, Jersey	01534 511 115 www.jerseyoperahouse.co.uk