DV8(UK): Just for Show

Dear visitors, Please note that the performances of DV8 Physical Theatre on the 8th, 9th and 10th of December start EXACTLY at 8 PM! Latecomers will not be admitted. Thank you for your understanding. Trafó

Using virtual projection, visual illusion and word play, DV8’s international cast explores the importance of appearance and image in our lives.

„Visually stunning, Just for Show could perhaps be best described as live cinema, albeit a strange hybrid of arthouse and advertising. Use of projections, lighting and set, combined with slick performances, created a confusing orgy of image…” (Niamh Lawlor, Total Theatre Magazine)

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DV8 Physical Theatre's work is about taking risks, both physically and aesthetically, breaking down barriers between dance and theatre, dealing with personal politics and, above all, communicating ideas and feelings clearly and unpretentiously. It is determined to be radical yet accessible, and to take its work to as wide an audience as possible.

Formed in 1986 by an independent collective of dancers who had become frustrated and disillusioned with the preoccupations and direction of most dance, the Company has now produced eleven highly acclaimed dance pieces which have toured internationally, and three award-winning films for television.

Led since its inception by Lloyd Newson, DV8 places great emphasis on the process by which new work is created. The Company has fought successfully for funding to cover lengthy research and development periods in order to maintain rigorous artistic integrity and quality in each new project. For every one of its works since 1987, DV8 has commissioned set designers and living composers to help investigate the relationship between body, architecture and music. The focus of the creative approach is on reinvesting dance with meaning, particularly where this has been lost through formalised techniques. DV8's work inherently questions the traditional aesthetics and forms which pervade both modern and classical dance, and attempts to push beyond the values they reflect to enable discussion of wider and more complex issues.

DV8 (Dance and Video 8)'s strong commitment to film and video continues, most recently with a film of its highly successful 2000 stage production, The Cost of Living. This reflects its ongoing interest in how two primarily visual media can enhance one another and reach a crossover audience from within both forms. The film will be presented in Budapest during Autumn Festival in October 2005 (for more information, see www.wsf.hu, EDIT2005 International Dance Film Festival).

The Company's reputation relies on pushing its own boundaries and on the constant re-examination of the roles and relationships of men and women in our society. Its artistic policy underscores the importance of challenging preconceptions of what dance can, and should, address.

Conceived and Directed by: Lloyd Newson Assistant to the Director / Company Manager: Gabriel Castillo Set Design: Lloyd Newson and Naomi Wilkinson Composers : John Hardy, Simon Hunt Lighting Design: Jack Thompson Costumes: Christina Cunningham

There will be no interval Some scenes may contain nudity and / or strong language

Just for Show is co-produced by Romaeuropa and Accademia Filarmonica, Rome; National Theatre, London; Théâtre de la Ville and the Festival d’Automne, Paris and spielzeiteuropa / Berliner Festspiele, Berlin. Commissioned by Brighton Festival. This project received support from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation towards initial practical research and development activity. An Artsadmin associated project.

www.dv8.co.uk