Tavaziva Dance Bring GREED to Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre

Tavaziva Dance will return to the Stephen Joseph Theatre next month with Greed, a dynamic, powerful, exhilarating dance piece with a stimulating and infectious soundtrack. It can be seen at the Scarborough theatre on Tuesday 3 June.

Greed is choreographer Bawren Tavaziva's electrifying reimagining of The Seven Deadly Sins for the 21stcentury, dealing with the interplay of money, power, and religion between African and Western cultures, and the corporate theft of Africa's natural resources. 

The show was first performed to great acclaim in 2013; it's been revised and remounted for 2025. It was considered timely in 2013 and is even more relevant now, given the increased environmental degradation that's taken place in the intervening decade. 

Greed is an exciting, fast-paced, theatrical production with beautifully designed costumes and lighting and a thumping soundtrack, performed by a diverse cast of five gifted dancers. 

Artistic direction, choreography, music and spoken word is by Bawren Tavaziva. Rehearsal direction is by Sadé Alleyne. Costume design is by Ben Voorhaar and Sabrina Zyla of Karisma, and lighting design is by Tim Speechley. 

Bawren Tavaziva was born in rural Zimbabwe. In his teens he joined a dance programme that targeted talented under-privileged youngsters. Classes were given in the townships in contemporary dance, traditional dance and ballet, and Bawren was soon selected to join extra classes for the most talented.

At 18, he became an apprentice for Tumbuka Dance Company, touring Africa and Europe for five years. In 1998, he moved to the UK, where he performed with Phoenix Dance, Union Dance Company, Jazzxchange, Carol Brown, and Sakoba Dance Theatre. 

In 2004, Bawren was a finalist in the UK's prestigious Place Prize for choreography, and as a result formed Tavaziva Dance in the same year.