Worthing Theatres welcomes the Olivier award winning Russell Maliphant Dance Company

Edd Arnold has been with the company for around four years and has been delighted to get back to it all post-pandemic: “We created the work Silent Lines in 2019 and then we toured for about a year and then everything was put on hold in 2020 as you can imagine. We were about to go back out on the road and we had international dates booked up and then obviously the whole thing was pulled.

“We had to pause everything like everyone else did and it was tough. I think to start with you didn't even know whether there was a light at the end of the tunnel. We didn't know whether we were ever going to be able to go back to live performance ever again really. We thought it might all be finished for live performance and that everything would be digital. So as you can imagine the first few performances back were super special. We just didn’t really know whether we would ever be able to do it again but we got back to performance with this company around May or June this year. The reason for the timing was because of the scheduling and the new creation which was happening at the start of the year. To put the work back on after a couple of years you had to get everyone back into the studio for rehearsals and so on and you can imagine it took a while. Obviously some people moved on and just went off in different directions in the meantime. The company that we've got for Worthing is a mix of the old cast and the new cast, bringing the two together.

“Silent Lines is an anatomical piece which reflects Russell’s practice over the years coming together really. We have been working on the project and we are also working with a fantastic digital director. I have been with the company for about four years. It's something I wanted to be part of. I first encountered Russell’s work when I was training and some dancers came in and did a workshop. I joined Ballet Boyz and I encountered Russell’s work again so I have that introduction into his world and his approach. His world is a big studio full of anatomical tools and different body works, almost like toys really. We've got bones in the studio and rib cages and it's just like understanding how you can move with those bones. The whole world is delivered directly through anatomy and movement, and we are also lucky to have a lighting rig in the studio. Russell’s practise is built on the body and light, and we are able to work with that daily. We have a technician there most of the time and we can create and explore straight away the connection between the body and light.”

Russell Maliphant Dance Company will be working together with UK based foundation Tickets For Good on the upcoming show, providing 50 free tickets to NHS workers and local charities. Tickets For Good strives to deliver positive social impact through live entertainment by lowering the barriers of access to live events for individuals who previously may not have attended due to physical, financial, work-based, or personal obstacles