Battersea Arts Centre Announces Further Shows in Spring 2022

Battersea Arts Centre (BAC) today announces further productions on offer in its spring 2022 programme. Shows include:

• '24 Italian Songs and Arias', a show about failure, by two award-winning failures; Brian Lobel and acclaimed soprano Gweneth-Ann Rand (3-19 March)
  
• 'He's Dead', a dark fantasy choreography questioning "was Tupac depressed?" by Marikiscrycrycry (16 March-2 April)

• a pop-cultural exorcism with new show 'Psychodrama', the first collaboration by Sleepwalk Collective and Christopher Brett Bailey (23 March-9 April)

• 'The Dan Daw Show', exploring power, pride and shame through disability and kink by Dan Daw Creative Projects (27 April-3 May)

• the London premier of 'Grin', subverting hypersexualised notions of African and Caribbean dance, by Mele Broomes and collaborators (18-27 May)

Tickets are now available to friends and members, with booking open to the public from 10am on Friday 21 January 2022 via bac.org.uk.

BAC will also celebrate talented young people in Homegrown festival this spring, a platform for emerging artists to perform and present their own events. Further details on how to apply will be announced soon.

Pelin Basaran, Head of Programming at Battersea Arts Centre, says:

"'With all of our lives still deeply affected by the pandemic, it is more important than ever for us reflect on the structural inequalities it has exposed. Working with artists towards a more care-centred and holistic approach, BAC's spring programme engages with the vulnerabilities of individuals, communities and histories, offering communal acts of joy and shared intimacies. Together we seek out new ways to imagine a different world.

Having recently joined the BAC team, I'm really looking forward to building on and developing the organisation's renowned artistic programme, and working with the next generation of ground-breaking artists. We're delighted to welcome some of the most exciting and pioneering contemporary performance from across the UK and around the world, and to offer our audiences thrilling and unfamiliar encounters."

These shows join previously announced productions at BAC this spring. The UK premier of 'Uncanny Valley' (22-26 February), by renowned German theatremakers Rimini Protokoll, interrogates the relationship between human originals and robotic copies. Over half-term: a new 're-hatched' production of Le Gateau Chocolat's 'Duckie' (15-19 February), with cabaret artist Paula Brett adding their twist to Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale of tolerance and self-acceptance; and a celebration of body positivity, individuality and aspiration in House of Ghetto's 'Family Vogue Ball' (17-18 February), sharing Ballroom's glamorous blend of fashion, music and dance with the younger generation for the first time.

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, while BSL interpreted, 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 socially distanced performances throughout the season. 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 donors, 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 continuing to support BAC through the Culture Recovery Fund. As we enter the new year, we also want to thank the many incredible funders who helped us through 2021, including the Garfield Weston Foundation through the Weston Culture Fund.