Gary Clarke’s Wasteland comes to Blackpool

As industrial Britain fell, a new subculture emerged…

Gary Clarke’s Wasteland, the sequel to multi-award winning show COAL, comes to Blackpool, celebrating the birth of UK rave culture.

Capturing a pivotal moment in social history, acclaimed choreographer Gary Clarke’s explosive Wasteland explores that time when despair turned into euphoria as the ravaged landscape of post-industrial Britain was transformed by the illegal rave culture of the 1990s and for an instant, it seemed music and dance might save the day.

Created to mark the 25th anniversary of the demolition of Grimethorpe Colliery in South Yorkshire and 30 years since the rise of UK rave culture, Wasteland is a thrilling yet deeply touching dance theatre production and the eagerly-awaited sequel to Clarke’s multi-award winning hit COAL.

The show comes to Blackpool as part of its autumn tour, with a performance at the Grand Theatre on November 8.

The striking miners of COAL fought for their families, their livelihoods, their communities, their futures and for an industry…but what happened to the families who survived the epic year-long battle of the Miners’ Strike of 1984/85?

Wasteland looks at how two different generations coped in this turbulent era of radical upheaval as industrial Britain fell and a new subculture emerged.

As one generation grinds exhaustedly to a halt, the next generation heads into the illegal rave scene of 1990s Britain, where derelict warehouses and abandoned work spaces become home for a new community of music and dance.

“For our generation, the future was very bleak with very little prospect. The rave culture gave many of us the opportunity to escape these grim and grey realities and into a new world of music and dance where we could express our inner feelings, desires and frustrations. My passion for dance grew from this discovery” Gary Clarke

In 1994, Gary Clarke joined family, friends and neighbours to witness the downfall of Grimethorpe Colliery, an act of ruination that not only marked another nail in the coffin of Britain’s mining industry but also added to the destruction of the working-class community that surrounded it.

Wasteland is based on Gary’s own experience of reaching maturity at the height of the rave movement and also on many hours of interviews with former miners and with people who, like him, found escape through rave’s music and alternative sub culture.

And by studying the movement of rave captured in archive footage, he found a way to take something improvised, spontaneous and free and transform into a structural but still exhilarating form of theatre.

The show brings together Clarke’s blistering physical dance language performed by a company of exceptional dancers – headed by COAL’s lead dancer Alistair Goldsmith as the Last Miner and Reece Calver as The Boy – and a cast of 4 male singers (unique to each venue) from local and surrounding communities, playing the role of the Pit Men Singers – a total of 76 men throughout the tour of 18 venues nationally in 2019/20.

Also, on stage will be two brass musicians, specially selected for every venue from the 14 championship brass bands who made such a vital and important contribution to the success of COAL.

“Like COAL communities are at the heart of Wasteland and it felt wrong to make a new show about communities without involving them.” Gary Clarke

Rare archive film footage brings the era to life – capturing both the tragedy of mining’s last days and the exhilaration of rave’s roots – along with a powerful rave sound score by Charles Webber (who also created Lighting and VJ designs) and unique art work by Jimmy Cauty, co-founder of The KLF.

Jimmy Cauty’s appropriated police riot shields were first created for the Occupy St Pauls eviction in 2012.

Later the Smiley Riot Shields art work was seen to enormous acclaim in fellow artist Banksy’s Dismaland and Wasteland will be another opportunity to see these iconic pieces in action.

“It’s not an offence to own a Jimmy Cauty Smiley Riot Shield but it may be an offence to use the artwork in a riot.” Jimmy Cauty

Bringing all this together into one unforgettable and compelling night of dance theatre, Wasteland dives head first into a hedonistic story of loss, hope, escapism and survival.

“To get anything that you need and anything that you believe in, it’s got to be worth fighting for – if it isn’t worth fighting for it isn’t worth doing.” A former coal miner

Wasteland reunites the production and creative team that made COAL such a major hit with both critics and audiences.

The producer of Wasteland is Gary Clarke’s long time mentor and collaborator Annabel Dunbar.

Dramaturgy is by Lou Cope, with costumes and set by designer Ryan Dawson Laight and other sound design by Daniel Thomas.

Musical Direction is once again by Steven Roberts, bringing outstanding community singers and brass musicians to the stage at each venue.

Gary Clarke Company dancers are: Alistair Goldsmith, Reece Calver, Robert Anderson, Emily Thompson Smith, Elena Thomas Voilquin and Jake Evans.

What the Scottish critics said about Wasteland June 2019:

⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑ “It’s stunning combination of movement, music and imagery makes for an unforgettable work of angry, emotional, celebratory, political dance” Sunday Herald (Glasgow)

⭑⭑⭑⭑ “Blisteringly fierce” The Herald (Glasgow)

⭑⭑⭑⭑ “A poignant and thrilling portrait of the British rave scene” The Skinny

“Compelling…powerful…excellent” The Scotsman

“Furious, moving and a warning from the past to the present” Fjord Review

“Pulsing and hypnotic… Wasteland oozes authenticity” Fringe Review

Ends
Notes to Editors
Wasteland is co-commissioned by Nottingham Playhouse, Tramway, Cast, Dance4, The Place, DanceXchange, Gulbenkian/ART 31, Contact Theatre, Grand Theatre Blackpool, Civic Barnsley, Yorkshire Dance, with additional support from Lawrence Batley Theatre, Northern Ballet, Leeds Dance Partnership, Stirling Pit Women and public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
Autumn 2019 Tour Dates
Northern Stage, Newcastle, September 25-26. For tickets call 0191 230 5151 or visit northernstage.co.uk
The Place, 7.30pm, October 2-5 and 8-10. For tickets call 020 7121 1100 or visit theplace.org.uk
Gulbenkian Canterbury, October 17-18. For tickets call 01227 769 075 or visit thegulbenkian.co.uk
Nottingham Playhouse, October 25-26. For tickets call 0115 941 9419 or visit nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk
Blackpool Grand Theatre, November 8. For tickets call 01253 290 190 or visit blackpoolgrand.co.uk
Laurence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield, November 12 -13. For tickets call 01484 430 528 or visit thelbt.org
English National Press Night | Thursday October 3 2019, Place London
2020 tour dates to be announced.

About Gary Clarke

Gary Clarke is regarded as one of the UK’s leading independent dance artists.
Gary has established himself as a respected choreographer whose work has toured both nationally and internationally to critical and audience acclaim.
Gary’s own company work work has received many awards and accolades including a UK Theatre Award and a Critics Circle National Dance Award (for COAL).
For other companies he has created large-scale work for Opera North, Sky Arts, The Cultural Olympiad and Hull City of Culture as well as touring work for Ludas Dance , StopGAP Dance Company, Anjali Dance and Akademi which also won The Herald Angel Award and the Summerhall Lustrum Award.
Gary has worked prolifically with companies and choreographers of international standing including Lea Anderson’s The Cholmondeleys & The Featherstonehaughs, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, Lloyd Newson’s DV8 Physical Theatre, Liv Lorent’s balletLORENT, Candoco Dance Company / Jerome Bel, Retina Dance Company, Nigel Charnock + Company, Bock & Vincenzi, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Sadler’s Wells Productions, New Art Club, Javier De Frutos and Wendy Houstoun.
He has also worked on a number of Blockbuster feature films such as World War Z featuring Brad Pitt and The Mummy featuring Tom Cruise.
In 2018, Gary Clarke received an Honorary Fellowship from The Northern School of Contemporary Dance and became the Honorary Vice President of Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band, alongside his COAL collaborator Steven Roberts.

Recommended age – 14 and upwards
Visit: Wastelandtour.co.uk
Photography By Joe Armitage
Released on behalf of Gary Clarke Company by John Highfield PR. For further information call 07776 180 911 or email: [email protected]