The award-winning Gary Clarke Company will bring its revolutionary new dance production DETENTION to Blackpool Grand Theatre this October

Gary Clarke’s excitingly provocative Pride in Motion Exhibition will also be showcased across Blackpool this February and is not to be missed…

Gary Clarke Company’s explosive new dance work DETENTION is set to completely captivate audiences when it makes a welcome stop at Blackpool Grand Theatre on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 October as part of a national tour.

Blackpool Grand is proud to be one of the co-commissioners of what is set to be a ground-breaking new piece of work following on from Gary Clarke’s highly acclaimed WASTELAND and award-winning COAL.

Celebrated choreographer Gary Clarke says of his powerful new piece: “DETENTION is the third and final part of a trilogy of dance theatre works following the multi award-winning COAL and critically acclaimed WASTELAND. What unites this trilogy is 1980s Britain – a time when our country was governed by Margaret Thatcher and how different marginalised communities fought for their human rights, their livelihoods and their existence.”

The Gary Clarke Company also launched a thrilling new photography exhibition at Blackpool Grand Theatre on Monday 10 February by award-winning photographer David Severn as part of the Pride in Motion artistic exchange project in collaboration with The Grand and members of Blackpool’s vibrant and historic LGBT+ community. The powerfully poignant opening event also showcased a stunning live performance piece created in collaboration with Artistic Director Gary Clarke. This two-year multi-layered project is ‘a reflection, a progression and an opportunity to celebrate a once silenced community’ with participants creating iconic images celebrating their own queer identities.

The stunning Pride in Motion images will be exhibited daily at Blackpool Grand to countless captivated viewers from Tuesday 11 February, before moving to Blackpool School of Arts exhibition space on Monday 17 February, where they will be on show until Tuesday 25 February. Further Blackpool venues are also planned for this exciting exhibition.

DETENTION explores the impact of SECTION 28: legislation from Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Government in 1988, which ‘prohibited the promotion of homosexuality’, forcing people from the LGBT+ community into a place of secrecy, fear and shame at a time when the country was in industrial turmoil and the gay community was being ravaged by the onslaught of AIDS.
Gary Clarke’s powerful and personal working-class storytelling draws on public and private stories and testimonies, including a rare insight into the LGBT+ Switchboard Logbooks, combined with vivid choreography performed by a company of exceptional professional dancers, an evocative narrator, a local cast of LGBT+ people, striking designs in film, sound, light and costume and music tracks by the iconic band TEST DEPT.

Clarke added: “Born in 1980 in a work-class pit village, as a young gay man I spent all of my childhood, teenage years and early adult life living under Section 28.  Today I am out and proud, yet I am left picking up the pieces, trying to make sense of what happened and what the lasting impact is on those of us who experience it. Whilst I understand we have made good progress; DETENTION is my attempt at honouring the past and acknowledging an important benchmark in LGBT+ history that shaped our resilient and courageous community forever.”

DETENTION is co-commissioned by Nottingham Playhouse, Blackpool Grand Theatre, Lawrence Batley Theatre, Cast and The Place and is a bold and moving exploration of the violence, loneliness, protests, debates, unlikely allies and the remarkable individuals and organisations of the time. It reunites many of the talented production and creative team that made COAL and WASTELAND, whilst also embarking on several new creative collaborations.

Blackpool Grand Theatre Chief Executive and co-commissioner of the piece, Adam Knight, said: “It is with enormous pride that the Blackpool Grand Theatre has collaborated with the internationally renowned artists Gary Clarke and David Severn to co-create with members of Blackpool’s LGBTQ+ community, this thrilling and impactful response to Gary’s forthcoming work DETENTION.

“Section 28 had a detrimental impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of people across the UK, at a time when greater education and awareness could have made a positive impact on breaking down stigma and outcomes, particularly for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS at that time.

“This exhibition reclaims some of that territory by putting the participants centre stage. It celebrates not only the individuals vibrantly and lovingly resonating through this exquisite series of portraits, but captures the essence of our town and Blackpool’s long tradition of welcoming and encouraging people to ‘be who they want to be’.”

Gary Clarke Company’s DETENTION will be at Blackpool Grand Theatre on Wednesday 8 & Thursday 9 October at 7.30pm.

Tickets from £15. Please note – Recommended age 14+

The Pride in Motion Exhibition will be showcased at Blackpool School of Arts from Monday 17 February to Tuesday 25 February and on to further venues to be confirmed.

Please call Blackpool Grand Theatre’s Creative Learning Dept on 01253 743269 for full exhibition details.

Please call the Grand Theatre Box Office on 01253 290190 or visit www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk for full show listings, bookings and further information.