A Host Of Vibrant UK Premieres In New Performance & Dance Programme For 2017 at Southbank Centre

Southbank Centre presents a host of exclusive UK premieres from across the world exploring diversity, identity, migration, evolution and sacrifice, for its Spring & Summer 2017 programme for performance, dance and theatre.

Spring season 2017 highlights include:

• Hong Kong Dance Company's UK premiere of its award-winning signature dance drama The Legend of Mulan, an inspiring re-telling of the household folktale of courage, love, peace and virtue (15 April).

• Following its acclaimed world premiere at Unlimited festival, disabled activist, actor and comedian Liz Carr brings her show Assisted Suicide the Musical back to Southbank Centre, due to popular demand (18 January).

• UK premiere of The Monkey Trial a theatrical performance based on the dramatic 1925 Scopes Trial debating the teachings of evolutionism versus creationism. Performed by acclaimed Belgian theatre collective company STAN, as part of Southbank Centre's new year-long festival Belief and Beyond Belief, exploring what it means to be human in the 21st Century (4 - 5 February).

• The first ever opera by world famous musician Ravi Shankar, Sukanya, fusing Indian music with dance, a western symphony orchestra and singers in an extravagant performance opening next year's Alchemy (19 May).

• UK premiere of Only One Suitcase Allowed, presented by Nordic Puppet Ambassadors, fusing object theatre and live installation, inspired by the story of Anne Frank (27 - 29 January). Part of Nordic Matters, Southbank Centre's year-long exploration of Nordic culture in 2017 and London International Mime Festival.

• London premiere of Pieter Ampe's solo show So You Can Feel, a raucous and evocative performance exploring the coming of age of a man and his body (23 - 24 February).

Summer season 2017 highlights include:

• Multilingual and multidisciplinary performance group Needcompany present a journey through the family trees of all Needcompany's members with the UK premiere of The Blind Poet, exploring the notion of identity in today's multicultural Europe through theatre, dance, music and performance (8 August).

• English National Ballet perform the world's greatest love story, Romeo and Juliet, on the Royal Festival Hall stage, choreographed by Rudolf Nureyev, with Prokofiev's exhilarating score performed by English National Ballet Philharmonic (1 - 5 August).

The full summer programme to be announced February 2017.

Rupert Thomson, Senior Programmer for Performance and Dance at Southbank Centre said: "There are too many amazing International Artists whose work we rarely or never get to see in the UK. We are committed to addressing this with the performance and dance programmes at Southbank Centre, to give UK audiences new and revelatory shows to marvel at, and to give UK-based artists opportunities to be inspired by exceptional international work.

"For this upcoming season we are delighted to welcome a number of UK premieres from some of the world's most distinguished and distinctive International Artists. Next year's programme sees an exploration of diversity of perspective and of form, while bringing together exciting new performances with something for everyone."

Enchanting theatre and performance for all ages will also be available across Southbank Centre's festivals. Imagine Children's Festival (9 - 19 February) features a performance of Michael Morpurgo's beloved tale Why The Whales Came by multi-award-winning performer and storyteller Danyah Miller (17 February), Neverland, a new immersive show for 1 - 3 year olds and their parents using 360° video projections, music and performance to tell the story of a child's imagination (7- 9 February), Aston's Stones, a touching story for 3 - 6 year olds exploring empathy by acclaimed Swedish theatre company Pero Theatre (13 - 15 February), and world-renowned Danish theatre company Gruppe 38 who present an interactive theatre piece Hans Christian, You Must Be an Angel (17 - 18 February).

Celebrating street culture, Urban festival returns with an exciting programme of dance and performance including Myself UK Dance Company, an all-female Hip Hop Dance Company who will train, rehearse and perform in residency in the Southbank Centre's Clore Ballroom (3 - 5 April) and Urban Dance School, a four-day Urban dance workshop for young dancers to learn Hip Hop dance skills from an experienced professional to develop a piece for performance on the Clore Ballroom (3 - 6 April).

For more information on ticket onsale dates please see listings below, visit the Southbank Centre website southbankcentre.co.uk or call 020 7960 4200

Photo Credit: Henry Wong

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