'This is an Island?' by DanceXchange

Join the Speaker of the House for This Is an Island? produced by DanceXchange with creative direction by Gary Clarke, which premiered through a partnership with Birmingham City University at a gallery space within Birmingham School of Art in November 2018, it was also performed at the Barbican on 23rd February and at Sage, Gateshead on the 24th February as part of the Art 50 festival.

This Is an Island? invited audiences to experience a no holds barred version of the motivations behind the referendum vote through the eyes of Birmingham residents, who were split almost 50/50 over Brexit. Interviews, comments, actions and views were transformed into a thought-provoking and exciting multi-sensory journey.

Audiences were taken on an experiential journey through an imagined forum, similar in structure to the House of Commons, experiencing first-hand the voices and opinions of the people of Birmingham through dance, spoken word, Installations and film.

The piece developed from conversations which took place in May 2018 when a group of artists went out on to the streets of the city to discuss Brexit and what it means to be British, through a series of road shows supported by DanceXchange and the Brexit Studies department at Birmingham City University.

GARY CLARKE is the electrifying and witty dance artist whose most recent widely acclaimed work 'Coal,' co-commissioned by DanceXchange, looked at the old mining communities of the North. Originally from Barnsley, Gary is one of the UK’s leading contemporary dance artists. His quirky choreography is thought provoking, visually striking and instantly recognisable.

This multi media performance includes dancers Vidya Patel, Si Rawlinson, Stefania Pinato (Laura Vanhulle in the original cast), Rebecca Randall, spoken word artist: Rosie Jones, installation artist: Amelia Beavis-Harrison and film maker Chris Bradley