Internationally renowned dance company Rambert will create a two-act, modern reimagining of the 17th century play Life Is A Dream by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, its first full-length narrative dance work in over 30 years.
The show will be choreographed by two-time Olivier Award-winner Kim Brandstrup and premieres at Sadler’s Wells in May 2018, touring the UK and internationally to 2019.
Rambert is well-known for touring mixed programmes of shorter works, yet this new production follows the company’s commitment to taking world-class dance to the widest possible audience.
This commission for Kim Brandstrup follows the success of his last piece for Rambert, Transfigured Night, which won the 2016 Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Best Modern Choreography.
Life Is A Dream is choreographed with Rambert’s dancers, with projections by legendary filmmakers and stop-motion pioneers the Quay Brothers, who will transform the space into a dreamlike world where illusion and reality collide. A symphony orchestra adds to the other-worldly atmosphere with the rich, harmonious music of Witold Lutosławski for this tale of revenge and reconciliation.
The show tells the story of Prince Sigismundo, who has been unjustly incarcerated from childhood. He is given two chances at freedom: in the first he is overwhelmed by all the things he has missed during his years in prison, and embarks on an angry rampage of excess and violence, before being recaptured. With his second, he approaches the world with renewed caution and wonder, as if it is a beautiful dream that could evaporate at any moment.
Life Is A Dream will play at Sadler’s Wells from 22 – 26 May 2018. More information can be found on the Rambert website.