Reviews

A thought-provoking brand of physical theatre that is all Faith’s own.

A rallying cry for more care and compassion in a society awash with grief, anxiety and loneliness.

The Stage

Great propulsive twists of the upper body that send the dancers hurtling towards the floor, folded like hinges, rising again on soft feet, or swooping across the stage like flocks of wounded birds.

Impressive.

The Observer

Rich, compelling, intriguing, and frequently beautiful, this is a piece that needs to be experienced.

The Reviews Hub

Choreographer Rhiannon Faith is one of the few UK artists making dance theatre that is pointedly socially conscious.

The Guardian

About Drowntown

Six strangers, weighed down by individual darkness, come to a coastal land. Seemingly abandoned, there is no one to help but themselves. Stuck between the remains of a broken community and the vast bleakness of the sea, they struggle with isolation, shame and failed support systems.

Gritty dance theatre, with autobiographical testimonials and text, this timely performance amplifies the voice of the vulnerable and unheard. With tenderness and honesty, Drowntown holds up a mirror to a society at its tipping point.

Choreographer Rhiannon Faith makes socially conscious work that raises awareness and lobbies for change. She asks here how we can champion authentic belonging for every person and save them from drowning.

Credits

Choreographer/Director: Rhiannon Faith

Cast: Dominic Coffey, Sam Ford, Shelley Eva Haden, Donald Hutera, Nicole Nevitt, Finetta Sidgwick, Pearl Melanie Crawley

Executive Director/Producer: Maddy Morgan

Project Producers: Lydia Wharf, Kerry Andrews, Olive Kane

Rehearsal Director: Shelley Eva Haden

Dramaturg: Lou Cope

Original Design: Amelia Jane Hankin

Lighting Design: Zoe Spurr

Associate Lighting Designer: Bethany Gupwell

Music Direction: Molly O’Brien

Composer/Sound Design: John Victor

Additional Sound Design: Mark Webber

Costumes: Alice Barbero

Production Manager: Sean Laing

Re-Lighter:Jessica Brigham

Stage Manager: Lauren Cross

Team Counsellor: Joy Griffiths

Original Devising Cast: Lewis Bramble, Cherie Coleman, Shelley Eva Haden, Tom Heyes, Donald Hutera, Marla King, Maddy Morgan

Film: Adam Sheldon & Big Egg Films

Photography: Foteini Christofilopoulou

Chinese Script Translation: Chen Guangyu

Drowntown is co-produced by Harlow Playhouse. Commissioned by Cambridge Junction with commissioning support from DanceEast. Supported by Brighton Dome & Festival Ltd, South East Dance, and using public funding by Arts Council England.

The project would like to express its special thanks to Ms. Dong Yiran and Performance Infinity for their assistance.

About Rhiannon Faith

Rhiannon Faith is a socially conscious artist whose work is an agent for discourse and change; she makes form-defying shows that have guts, and take guts. She is interested in how art changes lives.

Rhiannon Faith has recently created new work for the over 60’s dance company Three Score Dance and Northern School of Contemporary Dance third year degree performance. She has also worked internationally at the Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk with Baltic Opera and Pixel Artworks, choreographed for a Channel 4 Documentary with Bryony Kimmings, and was awarded the British Council Canada New Conversations exchange with Roshanak Jaberi exploring socially conscious practice.

About Rhiannon Faith Company

Rhiannon Faith Company makes radically tender dance theatre, working internationally on big stages and locally with communities on the margins, always with social change and care at its heart.

Rhiannon Faith Company were nominated for five National Dance Awards: Best Digital Choreography, Best Dance Film and Best Independent Company (2021, 2022 & 2023).

RFC's most recent work Drowntown completed a 2021 digital tour, and a live UK National tour 2022-23, receiving 4STAR reviews in The Observer, The Stage and The Reviews Hub. New work, Lay Down Your Burdens, is co-commissioned by The Barbican, London and Harlow Playhouse, and will premiere at the Barbican in November 2023 before touring internationally in 2024.

Rhiannon Faith Company is based at Harlow Playhouse, and is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.