Battersea Arts Centre (BAC) today reveals a first look at the productions which will be on offer in its spring 2022 schedule. Shows include a ‘re-hatching’ of Le Gateau Chocolat’s ‘Duckie’ over half-term, welcoming new cast member Paula Brett taking over the title role (15 – 19 February); London’s first ‘Family Vogue Ball’ hosted by Manchester’s House of Ghetto (17-18 February); and the UK premier of ‘Uncanny Valley’ by renowned German theatre-makers Rimini Protokoll (22-26 February). Tickets are now available to friends and members, with booking open to the public from 10am on Friday 17 December 2021 via bac.org.uk. Further productions will be announced soon.
To make its work accessible to as wide an audience as possible, all events in the spring 2022 programme are part of BAC’s new Pay What You Can pricing model, BSL interpreted, live captioned and sensory adapted performances will be available and every event will be Relaxed. Covid-19 safety measures continue to be in place for live events at BAC. This includes following government advice requiring all audiences who are not exempt to wear masks, and offering one socially distanced performance per production. To give everyone the information they need in order to make decisions, pre-show information and details about BAC’s Covid-19 safety measures can be found on bac.org.uk
Battersea Arts Centre gratefully acknowledges the support of all its funders and partners, including Arts Council England, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Wandsworth Borough Council. Tremendous thanks to the Treasury, the Culture Secretary and everyone at DCMS, and Arts Council England for supporting BAC through the Culture Recovery Fund.
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Productions at BAC in 2022 will include:
Le Gateau Chocolat’s
Duckie
Tuesday 15 – Saturday 19 February 2022
Press performance: Tuesday 15 February at 3pm
Socially distanced performance: Friday 18 February at 3pm
Sensory adaptive performance: Saturday 19 February at 11am
Family-friendly glamour and glitz takes centre stage this half-term in ‘Duckie’, a reimaging of Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘The Ugly Duckling’ with a message of tolerance and self acceptance at its core. The fabulous children’s show – originally created by cabaret superstar Le Gateau Chocolat – will star Paula Brett as Duckie, adding their own twist to this classic tale of identity and belonging.
“‘Duckie’ delivers a message of acceptance and tolerance that resonates with adults and sews a seed in young children that hopefully blossoms in every new generation.” – Live Art Alive
Set in an animal circus, we join Duckie on an adventure of self-discovery, asking questions of the ‘happy ever after’ in a celebration of difference. Walking a little differently? Sounding a bit strange? Watch Duckie triumph by realising that these are their strengths.
Originally written & directed by Le Gateau Chocolat & Tommy Bradson
Originally Produced & developed by In Company Collective/ Something To Aim For
Supported by Arts Council England
Seed Commissioners New Wolsey Theatre, Colchester Arts Centre & Norwich Arts Centre
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House of Ghetto’s
Family Vogue Ball
London premier
Thursday 17 February, 3pm & 6 pm
Friday 18 February, 12 midday & 4pm
BSL interpreted performance: Friday 18 February at 4pm
Part theatre show, part Harlem Ballroom: Glamour, Glitz and Grace come together in a fabulous celebration of self-expression.
With its glamour, body positivity, and New York City African American and Latinx roots, LGBTQI+ Ballroom culture has been magpied many times by the mainstream. Darren Pritchard (‘Rent Party’, BBC documentary ‘Deep in Vogue’) is the creative force behind the Family Vogue Ball, sharing the authentic artform with the younger generation for the first time.
“A family vogue ball is a vital space for gay, trans, non-conforming and questioning young people to see positive, celebratory representations of themselves. Nothing else comes close to its outright celebration of fashion, music, dance, individuality, aspiration and creativity. But it is also an eye opening and magical experience for all families to explore different identities and ways of being outside of the mainstream, through movement, dance and costume.” – Darren Pritchard, House Mother: House of Ghetto
MC Stuart Bowden runs the catwalk, as Reece Daniels, Fortune Pastor Darnell Gledhill and Joshua Adedoyin walk, dance, pose and lip sync in the hope of eventually lifting the winners’ trophy. In a slight twist to the familiar format, the audience decides on the winner. The company will run a 30 minute pre-show drop in session where young people can learn poses for the show, and experiment with makeup and accessories.
Produced by Switchflicker Productions
Commissioned by Z‐arts, Homotopia and Black Gold Arts
Supported by Arts Council England
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Rimini Protokoll’s
Uncanny Valley
UK premier
Tuesday 22 – Saturday 26 February 2022
Press performance: Wednesday 23 February at 7.30pm
What is human, what is machine?
Renowned for their large-scale public works, documentary subject matter and experiments with technology, German theatremakers Rimini Protokoll (‘Utopolis’, Manchester International Festival 2021) present the UK premier of ‘Uncanny Valley’. The groundbreaking production interrogates the relationship between human originals and robotic copies, created in response to author Thomas Melle’s own experiences of bipolar disorder, fascination with prosthetics and his fear of public speaking.
Thomas Melle sits on stage. But this is not him. This is an almost perfect animatronic copy of his appearance, gestures and voice with 32 motors controlling each movement.
‘Uncanny Valley’ asks what it means for the original when the copy takes over? Does the original get to know himself better through his electronic double? Do the copy and his original compete or do they help each other?
Originally produced by the Münchner Kammerspiele, in coproduction with Berliner Festspiele – Immersion, donaufestival (Krems), Feodor Elutine (Moscow), FOG Triennale Milano Performing Arts (Milano), Temporada Alta – Festival de Tador de Catalunya (Girona), SPRING Utrecht
