Photo Flash: First Look at DANCE NATION at the Almeida Theatre

Somewhere in America, a revolution is coming.

An army of competitive dancers is ready to take over the world, one routine at a time.

With a pre-teen battle for power and perfection raging on and off stage, Dance Nation is a ferocious exploration of youth, ambition and self-discovery.

Winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and The Relentless Award, Clare Barron's explosive new play Dance Nation makes its UK debut, directed by Bijan Sheibani.

The cast includes Brendan Cowell, Nancy Crane, Karla Crome, Miranda Foster, Sarah Hadland, Kayla Meikle, Irfan Shamji, Manjinder Virk and Ria Zmitrowicz.

Get a first look in the photos below!

Clare Barron's play Dance Nation recently received its world premiere at Playwrights Horizons (NYC) in May 2018. It is the recipient of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and The Relentless Award established in honour of Philip Seymour Hoffman. Her other plays include You Got Older which received an Obie Award, Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Play, and was a Susan Smith Blackburn finalist; I'll Never Love Again; and Baby Screams Miracle. She is the recipient of a Whiting Award for Drama, the Paula Vogel Playwriting Award at The Vineyard, and the Page 73 Fellowship; and is a member of New Dramatists.

Bijan Sheibani directs. He previously directed The House of Bernarda Alba and Fixer at the Almeida. His other theatre credits include Circle Mirror Transformation (HOME Manchester); The Brothers Size (Young Vic Theatre); Barber Shop Chronicles; Romeo and Juliet; A Taste of Honey; Emil and the Detectives; The Kitchen and Our Class (National Theatre); You Got Older (RADA); Giving (Hampstead Theatre); Moonlight (Donmar Warehouse); Eurydice (ATC and the Young Vic) and Gone Too Far! (Royal Court, Hackney Empire and Albany Theatre - Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre). His opera work includes Tell Me the Truth about Love (Streetwise Opera); Nothing (Glyndebourne) and The Virtues of Things and Through His Teeth (Royal Opera House). He was Associate Director at the National Theatre from 2010-2015 and Artistic Director of ATC from 2007-2010.

Photo Credit: Marc Brenner