Press room

The Barbican today announces the spring/summer Theatre and Dance line-up. Performances begin next week with London International Mime Festival, and run until early September 2022 with the triumphant return of the smash hit musical Anything Goes. Tickets go on sale to Barbican Patrons today, to Barbican Members on Thursday 20 January, and on general sale on Friday 21 January.

Toni Racklin, Head of Theatre and Dance at the Barbican, said: “2022 sees the long-awaited return of international work in the Theatre, The Pit and Silk Street Theatre. If you missed Internationaal Theater Amsterdam’s Roman Tragedies and Kings of War, now’s your chance to catch the company’s trademark style of epic theatre with Age of Rage, a dark and bloody story about a cycle of revenge. If you love to move, step into another world as you don cutting-edge VR kit to experience a Parisian ball, dressed in virtual costumes by fashion designer CHANEL. Last seen at the Barbican with her dancing robots, Le Bal de Paris is a not-to-be-missed VR experience created by the Spanish choreographer Blanca Li. The visionary South African visual artist and theatre director, William Kentridge, brings two new pieces to our stage, with live piano and chorus, about the strange myth of the Cumaean Sibyl, a prophetess. We’re delighted to present the next edition of Transpose, curated by Campbell X and directed by Tabby Lamb. This Pit Party celebrates the creativity of trans artists featuring a fantastic line-up of performers. To honour Raimund Hoghe - German performer, choreographer, writer and dramaturg to Pina Bausch - Mary Kate Connolly, editor of his biography, looks back at his life in this fitting farewell. And to round off our jam-packed season is the return of the phenomenal Anything Goes.”

We bring the Barbican co-production and UK premiere of Internationaal Theater Amsterdam’s Age of Rage to the Theatre. Directed by Ivo van Hove, it features the choreography of Wim Vandekeybus and live on-stage music from the contemporary music ensemble BL!NDMAN [drums]. In the vein of previously acclaimed productions, Roman Tragedies and Kings of War, this is a dark, epic and visceral story adapted from ancient Greek classics that tell how revenge wrecks and haunts successive generations.

Blanca Li Dance Company returns to the Barbican, with the award-winning virtual reality experience Le Bal de Paris, a UK premiere, which uses ground-breaking VR and body-tracking technology to transport audiences to a breath-taking Parisian ballroom. Created by world-renowned Spanish choreographer Blanca Li, with virtual costumes designed by fashion house CHANEL, audiences also have a chance to learn the dances with Blanca Li Dance Company after the event.

Prior to the biggest William Kentridge exhibition in the UK to date at the Royal Academy in the autumn, we bring the UK premiere of SIBYL to the Theatre, comprising of The Moment Has Gone – a short film with live piano score and chorus – and Waiting for the Sibyl – a visually stunning chamber opera. This new piece is created by the South African artist in collaboration with acclaimed choral composer and performer Nhlanhla Mahlangu and composer Kyle Shepherd, one of South Africa’s leading progressive pianists.

Continuing our hugely popular and successful strand of Pit Parties, Campbell X curates the latest edition of Transpose, founded by artistic director CN Lester. In an electric evening celebrating the creativity of some of the UK’s most exciting trans artists, Transpose JOY is directed by acclaimed playwright Tabby Lamb and features Mzz Kimberley, Felix Mufti and Ebony Rose Dark.

For one night only in The Pit, Mary Kate Connolly traces the life of SPILL Festival long-time friend Raimund Hoghe, dramaturg for Pina Bausch, who performed Sacre - The Rite of Spring during the inaugural festival at the Barbican in April 2007, and who died unexpectedly last year. Raimund, Farewell celebrates the life of this revered German performer, choreographer and writer, through a joyous collision of encounters, memories, and film excerpts.

The new shows announced today join the previously announced productions for early 2022, which are already on sale. All shows are listed below in chronological order.




London International Mime Festival 2022
Thick & Tight – Short & Sweet
Tuesday 25–Saturday 29 January 2022, The Pit
Press performance: Wednesday 26 January 2022, 7.45pm

Thick & Tight make their Barbican debut with Short & Sweet - an amuse-bouche platter of nine new works designed to excite, provoke and satisfy.

Created by Eleanor Perry and Daniel Hay-Gordon, this thoroughly modern variety show mixes dance, drag, lip-syncing and satire. It brings a host of famous and infamous characters to life: Sid Vicious, Twiggy, Grace Jones, a monstrous Putin/Rasputin hybrid, eight Edith Sitwells and everyone’s favourite avant-garde duo, John Cage and Elaine Paige. The evening concludes with a preview of new work inspired by Japanese Noh theatre, commissioned by the Noh Reimaged Festival.

Thick & Tight are joined by an incredible line-up of artists: Corali Dance Company, Harry Alexander, Oxana Panchenko, Azara Meghie and Connor Scott.

London International Mime Festival 2022 shows at the Barbican were announced on Wednesday 13 October and are on sale.


London International Mime Festival 2022
Compagnie 111 – aSH
A piece by Aurélien Bory for Shantala Shivalingappa
Wednesday 26–Saturday 29 January, Barbican Theatre
Press performance: Thursday 27 January 2022, 7.45pm

The final work in Aurélien Bory’s trilogy of large-scale solos for female dancers, aSH is performed by one of the most original dancers of our time, Shantala Shivalingappa, to a live soundscape provided by Loïc Schild. In this dazzling performance, Shivalingappa leads audiences on a thrilling journey linking ancestral culture and innovative technology. Paying homage to Shiva, god of creation and destruction, the Madras-born dancer interprets Shiva’s vibration - the rhythm of the world - moving in spirals and patterns.

Trained in Kuchipudi, originally a male dance form, Shivalingappa is a New York Bessie Award-winning dancer, actor and singer who has worked with some of the greatest modern directors and choreographers including Maurice Béjart, Peter Brook and Pina Bausch.

aSH follows Aurélien Bory’s Olivier Award-nominated What’s Become of You? (Questcequetudeviens?) for the flamenco artist Stéphanie Fuster which was seen at the Barbican in 2014 as part of London International Mime Festival, and Plexus with Japanese star Kairo Ito in 2015 at Sadler’s Wells, also part of London International Mime Festival.

London International Mime Festival 2022 shows at the Barbican were announced on Wednesday 13 October and are on sale. 


London International Mime Festival 2022
Stereoptik – Stellaire
Tuesday 1–Saturday 5 February 2022, The Pit
Press performance: Tuesday 1 February 2022, 7.45pm

Stellaire is a handmade mini-spectacle - a love story unfolding through space and time, set in a magic-lantern world. Using paper, chalk, charcoal, sand, silhouettes and projection, Romain Bermond and Jean-Baptiste Maillet create wondrous cartoon-theatre.

Stereoptik’s two virtuoso visual artists propel audiences into orbit, to wonder at the mysteries of the universe and stars. The duo’s gentle live music accompaniment highlights the enchanting astral romance.

Bermond and Maillet first met as members of a brass band. Since creating their inaugural show in 2008 their work has been enjoyed across the world. Stellaire follows Dark Circus, their big top cowboy melodrama seen at the Barbican in 2016 as part of London International Mime Festival.

London International Mime Festival 2022 shows at the Barbican were announced on Wednesday 13 October and are on sale.


London International Mime Festival 2022
Vanishing Point – Interiors
Wednesday 2–Saturday 5 February 2022, Barbican Theatre
Press performance: Wednesday 2 February 2022, 7.45pm

Mysteries unfurl beyond the stage in this hypnotic and powerfully intense drama from Vanishing Point, one of Scotland’s foremost theatre companies.

Behind a window, in a cosy room, a group of friends gather for a meal. The lamps are on, everyone is happy. Talk begins and stories unfold. There is laughing, flirting, joking, eating and dancing. But sadness soon threads its way through the occasion, secrets emerge and lies are exposed. Outside someone is watching.

Vanishing Point are celebrated for their distinctive and visionary work. This internationally acclaimed production is inspired by Nobel Prize winner Maurice Maeterlinck’s classic play, Interior.

London International Mime Festival 2022 shows at the Barbican were announced on Wednesday 13 October and are on sale.


The PappyShow Pit Party
Friday 4 & Saturday 5 March 2022, The Pit
Press performance: Saturday 5 March 2022, 6pm

Join us for an evening of radical joy, celebrating bold and beautiful dance, music and the best of vibes curated by The PappyShow.

The playful ensemble company host this exciting mixed-bill of performances that showcase their own work and other outstanding artists they love. Dance, laugh and celebrate as they introduce the best of dance, physical performance, spoken word and a live DJ set; all with collaboration, community and showcasing marginalised identities at the heart of the night. 

Founded by Kane Husbands in 2013, The PappyShow is a theatre company of ten core friends that brings people together to move and create room for people to play and celebrate their voice. As well as their critically-acclaimed productions – such as BOYS, Winner of the Origins Outstanding New Work Award at VAULT Festival and OFFIE nominated GIRLS – they lead diverse workshops that centre training for everybody and all bodies.

The PappyShow Pit Party was announced on Wednesday 27 October and tickets are on sale.


Boy Blue – A Night with Boy Blue
Saturday 5 & Sunday 6 March 2022, Barbican Theatre
Press performance: Saturday 5 March 2022, 8pm

Mixing exuberant hip-hop dance, a joyful sense of community and the heart-thumping rhythms of an electronic score, Boy Blue’s biennial showcase always culminates in uproarious applause.

Hosted by Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante and Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy, these performances assemble the entire company from the youngest pupils to professional dancers. Seventy performers flood the stage in ensembles that match taut choreography with empowering movement and irresistible musicality.

This family-friendly show celebrates the pioneers of hip-hop dance theatre and their creative mission to educate, enlighten and entertain. 2022 marks the company’s 21st birthday, as they look back and pay it forward.

After Saturday’s performance, over 18s are invited to dance the night away at the BSI Jam: Beats, Streets & Inspiration – After Party. Boy Blue's Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante and guests play the best in R&B, hip hop, funk, house and old skool music until late in the Barbican foyer.

A Night with Boy Blue was announced on Wednesday 27 October and tickets are on sale.


Belarus Free Theatre – Dogs of Europe
Thursday 10–Saturday 12 March 2022, Barbican Theatre
Press performance: Friday 11 March 2022, 7.45pm

From one of the world’s bravest theatre companies comes a visceral, psychological drama set in the near future, depicting a dystopian super-state in which individual rights have given way to control.

In 2049, a murder investigation sets a man on a quest, his search bringing him to former Belarus and Russia, now a European territory ruled by a secret service. But his journey becomes less about the regime’s origins, more a revelation about his own role in its creation. Based on a novel by Alhierd Bacharevic – now banned in Belarus - Dogs of Europe is both an epic fantasy and political thriller about the dangers of looking away when authoritarianism takes root.

Exiled from their native country, the co-founders of Belarus Free Theatre are political refugees who make underground work that plays to courageous audiences in secret locations across Minsk and around the world. Rehearsing from London and via Skype, the company is known for its physical theatrical style. Having lived in democracies and a dictatorship, this show is especially prescient.

Dogs of Europe is performed in Belarusian with English surtitles.

Dogs of Europe was announced on Wednesday 27 October and tickets are on sale.


Ballet Black – Double Bill
Thursday 24–Sunday 27 March 2022, Barbican Theatre
Press performance: Friday 25 March 2022, 7.45pm

Celebrating their 20th anniversary, this thrilling and imaginative ballet company debut an outstanding double bill featuring choreography from Gregory Maqoma and score by Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante.

For their latest programme, Cassa Pancho's Ballet Black bring two original works to the Barbican stage, including a new piece for the full company by acclaimed South African choreographer Gregory Maqoma (Cion: Requiem of Ravel’s Bolero) and an original score by Michael 'Mikey J' Asante, co-artistic director of Barbican Artistic Associate Boy Blue. The double bill also comprises a new ballet directed by Cassa Pancho, featuring choreography by the artists of Ballet Black.

Ballet Black is transforming the dance landscape by giving a platform to artists of Black and Asian descent as well as to new and established choreographic voices whose unexpected stories and themes come from the heart to resonate with modern audiences.

Ballet Black’s Double Bill was announced on Wednesday 27 October and tickets are on sale.


Transpose JOY: Pit Party
Thursday 31 March–Saturday 2 Apr 2022, The Pit
Press performance: Thursday 31 March 2022, 7.45pm

Award-winning filmmaker and writer Campbell X curates the latest edition of Transpose, an electric evening of live music, opera, rap and unbelievable choreography from some of the UK’s most exciting trans artists.

With performances by Mzz Kimberley, Felix Mufti and Ebony Rose Dark, this Pit Party celebrates the creativity of trans artists. Wrapped in a package of gender euphoria, Transpose JOY showcases the healing effects of gender affirmation and the beauty of Trans4Trans relationships.

Transpose was founded by artistic director CN Lester in 2011 and celebrates, promotes and platforms the wide-ranging talents of the UK trans community. This edition is curated by Campbell X and directed by acclaimed playwright Tabby Lamb.


Blanca Li – Le Bal de Paris
Friday 1–Saturday 9 April 2022, Barbican Theatre
Press performances: Friday 1 April 2022, 6pm, 7.15pm, 8.15pm, and 9.15pm

Music and dance merge with ground-breaking VR and body-tracking technology in this stunningly original virtual reality show, Le Bal de Paris. Audiences are invited to the biggest party in Paris as they enter a universe as poetic as it is fantastic. As they dance, move and interact with real-life performers and the other guests, they follow a heart-warming love story unfolding in breath-taking locations including a monumental, glamorous Parisian ballroom and a magical garden party.

Developed by world-renowned Spanish choreographer Blanca Li, Le Bal de Paris won the Best VR Experience award at the 78th Venice International Film Festival. With digital costume design by fashion house CHANEL, and virtuosic musical score by Tao Gutiérrez, the show takes audiences on an unforgettable journey, from classical waltz to a rip-roaringly wild Cancan finale. After the virtual experience audiences will have the opportunity to learn some of the dances with the Blanca Li team.


SPILL Festival of Performance – Raimund, Farewell
Tuesday 12 April 2022, The Pit

SPILL Festival long-time friend Raimund Hoghe, who performed Sacre: The Rite of Spring during the inaugural festival at the Barbican in April 2007, died unexpectedly in his sleep on 14 May 2021. An artist of resilient grace, generosity of spirit, and an acute observer of the complexities of the human condition, he was a dramaturg for Pina Bausch, who then went on to create his own performances. Born with severe curvature of the spine, he placed his body onstage as a radical act.

In Raimund, Farewell, Mary Kate Connolly – editor of his biography – uses film and recorded spoken word from the artist himself to trace a life lived with beauty, steel and vibrance. Refusing to be a eulogistic treatise, the show celebrates the life of this revered German performer, choreographer and writer, through a joyous collision of encounters, memories, and film excerpts.


The PappyShow – BOYS 
Tuesday 12–Saturday 23 April 2022, Silk Street Theatre
Press performance: Wednesday 13 April 2022, 7.45pm

Laugh, cry and celebrate with the performers of The PappyShow as they share a multitude of stories about being a young man of colour in an electric show bursting with physical energy, tender reflection and playful improvisation.

For the 10-strong cast of BOYS – whose communities, families and heritage span the globe – it’s time to dive headfirst into the experiences of being a man. Flipping from jokey games to hard-hitting insights and heartfelt understanding, they dance, talk and interact, unravelling preconceptions and their lived experience. With identities explored, endurance tested and vulnerability expressed, this is a joyful, authentic and raw portrayal of manhood.

BOYS weaves slick choreography and dialogue with a soundtrack of contemporary beats that soar and dip to set the mood. Presented by the Barbican in association with Guildhall School of Music & Drama, the show has been created by the company in response to ideas of British masculinity, the performance is ‘as moving and truthful, as it is humorous and powerful’ (Exeunt Magazine).

BOYS was announced on Wednesday 27 October and ticket are on sale.


William Kentridge – SIBYL
Friday 22–Sunday 24 April 2022, Barbican Theatre
Press performance: Friday 22 April 2022, 7.45pm

SIBYL is an evening of two parts by South African artist William Kentridge, comprising of The Moment Has Gone – a short film with live piano score and chorus – and Waiting for the Sibyl – a visually stunning chamber opera.

The evening begins with The Moment Has Gone, a short film accompanied by a live piano score and a captivating all-male South African chorus. It charts the making of City Deep, Kentridge’s latest animated film, and incorporates ideas that reappear in the second part of the evening in Waiting for the Sibyl.

Waiting for the Sibyl is a dynamic chamber opera with a full company of singers and dancers. It features signature elements of Kentridge’s visionary practice - projection, performance, music, and hand-painted backdrops. Sibyl was an ancient Greek priestess, whose readings of people’s fates often ended up in the wrong hands.

William Kentridge is best known for his prints, drawings, and animated films. This new piece was created in collaboration with acclaimed choral composer and performer Nhlanhla Mahlangu and composer Kyle Shepherd, one of South Africa’s leading progressive pianists.

SIBYL is performed in English, Zulu, Xhosa, Sesotho and Ndebele.

From 24 September–11 December 2022 the Royal Academy presents the biggest Kentridge exhibition in the UK to date, presenting an overview of his 40-year career, revealing an artist at the height of his creative powers.


Internationaal Theater Amsterdam – Age of Rage
Thursday 5–Sunday 8 May 2022, Barbican Theatre
Press performance: Thursday 5 May 2022, 6.30pm

Visionary director Ivo van Hove returns with a dark, epic and visceral story adapted from ancient Greek classics that tell how revenge wrecks and haunts successive generations.

Age of Rage is based on the tragedies written by Euripides and Aeschylus: Iphigenia in Aulis, The Trojan Women, Hecuba, Agamemnon, Electra and Orestes. Focusing on the Trojan War and the Atreides family, we see how anger and violence are passed from generation to generation, like a curse. Performed by a large ensemble cast, it spotlights the inevitability and hopelessness of repeated circles of violence.

Age of Rage follows the acclaimed large-scale productions Roman Tragedies and Kings of War, by world-renowned Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, directed by Ivo van Hove. The set is spectacularly designed by Jan Versweyveld, with choreography by Belgian choreographer Wim Vandekeybus and music from the contemporary music collective BL!NDMAN [drums].

Age of Rage is performed in Dutch with English surtitles.


Trafalgar Entertainment – Anything Goes
Friday 15 July–Saturday 3 September 2022
Press performance: date to be confirmed

The smash hit ‘show of the year’ Anything Goes is sailing back to the Barbican Theatre this summer for an eight week return residency from 15 July until 3 September. Last year’s summer season of Anything Goes at the Barbican saw audiences on their feet night after night giving this multi–Tony Award winning show multiple standing ovations. This spectacular show has been described as the “musical equivalent of sipping one glass of champagne after another” (The Times) and “delightful, delicious, and as buoyant as helium” (Evening Standard).

Anything Goes takes you back to the Golden Age of high society on the seas from the comfort of your seat. The lavish production has smashed multiple Box Office records at the Barbican as audiences flocked to the Theatre for the 15-week sold out season.

Tickets are on sale.