Award-winning choreographer Rosie Kay is returning to the stage after five years in her new solo work as part of a triple bill: Absolute Solo II, 21 years on from her first ever solo show Absolute Solo, which she performed in the 1999 Edinburgh Festival.
The new, currently untitled, piece created in lockdown will première alongside Artemis Clown, which she made in 2018 but has never performed, and a screen dance version of Patisserie from 1999. Part autobiography, part socio-anthropological study, she will use ideas of performance, identity, sex and gender to "explore her new dancing spirit".
Kay anticipates premièring her new work in November 2020 in her home city of Birmingham in front of a socially distanced audience and live-streamed to audiences at home. Venue and ticket sale details will be announced when they can be confirmed.
Edinburgh born Kay stopped performing in 2015 after a career spanning over thirty years on stage and has since choreographed 5 SOLDIERS, 10 SOLDIERS, MK ULTRA and Fantasia amongst others. She has felt the draw to perform again when she had to stand in for one of the 5 SOLDIERS dancers on its tour of the USA in February 2020.
Kay said, “it is a strange coincidence that I had felt the draw back to performing and had already begun to make a new solo work before the recently enforced lockdown and social distancing measures. As much of the theatre industry is paralysed by the current restrictions, working alone happens to be the only way I can continue to make and present art to audiences right now. Whilst it feels odd to announce a new show without an exact première date and venue confirmed, I feel it is important to continue creating and connecting with audiences despite the restrictions of the current time.”