Photo Credit: Brian Slater
Created in 2010, 5 SOLDIERS is a timely, controversial, thought provoking and moving exploration of war in modern times. A dance theatre work with four male and one female dancers, it looks at how the human body is essential to, and used in, warfare. 5 SOLDIERS explores the physical training that prepares you for war, as well as the possible effects on the body, and the injury caused by warfare.
Featuring Kay’s trademark intense physicality and athleticism, 5 SOLDIERS weaves a story of physical transformation, helping us understand how soldiers are made and how war affects them.
The work was created after an intensive research period where Rosie Kay joined the 4th Battalion The Rifles on battle training and spent a period at Headley Court Rehabilitation Centre working with injured soldiers. There are many resources the company can offer students studying this work. Some are available online or please contact info@rosiekay.co.uk for access to private files and documents.
Press Quotes:
“This astonishing work that takes no stand on war except to present it as it is now for the soldier. Rosie Kay’s dancers get right inside the skins, the minds, the very souls of the five as they progress from the rigours of training to the breath-holding intensity of the frontline. It’s highly charged and it screams authenticity… Warfare here isn’t about weapons and armour, but about the physicality and dexterity of the human body, the punishment it can give and the abuse it can take… The final scene leaves you shocked and sobered, with a new humility and a fresh understanding of what gallantry really means. Awesome.” THE STAGE
“Rosie Kay’s new work is an honourable attempt to understand the effects of war on the bodies of soldiers. Kay so wants us to identify with what her five-strong cast is experiencing that she rubs our faces in it… As the lone female Tilly Webber strips off her combat gear and, after powdering bare limbs, oozes over the stage oblivious to the wolfish men assisting her… The most revealing scene is a muscular yet tender duet that underscores the ambiguous bonding that can occur in the theatre of war.” THE TIMES
Audience Quotes:
“I spent 30 years in the Army, much of that in Green Jacket battalions on operational tours around the world including Borneo and Northern Ireland. I enjoyed the piece enormously and found much of it very moving. It took me back to my days as a platoon and company commander and I was reminded of the sheer physicality of soldiering: the endless pursuit of fitness and the importance of keeping bodies healthy.”
“I am a former Green Jacket soldier so found it very easy to follow what was going on. I found the performance deeply moving, relevant and so representative of how soldiers are and how they cope with the contrasting aspects of their lives – from the mind-numbing drudgery of life in barracks to the acute anxiety and excitement of operations as well as the trials and tribulations of love, lust and rejection. Arresting and disturbing. But through it shines the in extinguishable light of the British soldier’s guts, determination and irrepressible sense of humour. Thank you all.”"
“I am just emailing to say that I saw the performance of 5 soldiers at Warwick Arts Centre last night and it just blew me away. My boyfriend has just come back from Afghanistan and the things in this performance were exactly the things he struggled with and told me about. The amount of work that went into this piece is clear and the respect with which it handles the subject is perfect. I just wanted to tell the company that they are doing an amazing thing in showing everyone at home a glimpse of what it is like. I feel that this production has brought me closer to understanding what it was like for my boyfriend, which I think is a powerful and important thing.”
Choreography and Direction: Rosie Kay
Composer: Annie Mahtani
Visual Artist: David Cotterrell
Artistic Collaborator: Walter Meierjohann
Dramaturg: Petra Taucher
Dancers: Tilly Webber, Chris Vann, Chris Linda, Michael Spenceley, Tomasz Moskal
Set: Louis Price
Lighting Designer: Mike Gunning
Technical Manager: Simon Broadbridge
Rehearsal Director: Joanne Moven
Tour Dates 2010-2011 12 March / NEWCASTLE / Dance City, Temple Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 4BR / 0191 261 0505 / www.dancecity.co.uk
23 March/ CARDIFF / Wales Millennium Centre, Weston Studio, Bute Place, Cardiff Bay, CF10 5AL / 029 2063 6464 / www.wmc.org.uk
1 April / WOLVERHAMPTON/ Arena Theatre, Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton WV1 1SE / 01902 321321 / www.arena.wlv.ac.uk
7 / 8 / 9 April / 21 / 22 / 23 April / BERLIN / Kunsthaus Tacheles, Oranienburger Straße 54-56A, 10117 Berlin, Germany/ 004930-2826185 / www.tacheles.de
18 April PADERBORN 5 Rifles, Germany
28 April / NEWBURY /Corn Exchange, Market Place, Newbury, RG14 5BD / 01635 522733 / www.cornexchangenew.com
14 May / LONDON/ Robin Howard Dance Theatre, The Place, 17 Dukes Road, London, WC1H 9PY / 020 7121 1100 / www.theplace.org.uk
26 May / HERTFORD / Hertford Theatre, C/0 Walfields, Pegs Lane, Herford, SG13 8EQ / 01992 584 322 / www.hertford.gov.uk
31 May / BIRMINGHAM/ Town Hall / www.thsh.org.uk
20/21 November MADRID EN DANZA FESTIVAL, MADRID, Spain
April 23 BIRMINGHAM The Patrick Centre International Dance Festival Birmingham
0844 338 5000 www.idfb.co.uk
April 24 BIRMINGHAM The Patrick Centre International Dance Festival Birmingham
0844 338 5000 www.idfb.co.uk
April 27 COVENTRY Warwick Arts Centre 024 76524524 www.warwickartscentre.co.uk
April 28 COVENTRY Warwick Arts Centre 024 76524524 www.warwickartscentre.co.uk
May 1 LINCOLN Lincoln Arts Centre 0844 8884414 www.lpac.co.uk
May 5 PORTSMOUTH New Theatre Royal 023 9264 9000 www.newtheatreroyal.com
May 13 SALISBURY Salisbury Arts Centre 01722 343 020 www.salisburyartscentre.co.uk
May 14 DARTINGTON Dartington Hall 01803 847 070 www.dartington.org
May 19 HULL Hull Truck Theatre 01482 323638 www.hulltruck.co.uk
May 20 LONDON The Rifles Club, 52-56 Davies Street, Mayfair, www.rosiekay.co.uk/rifles-club-performance/
May 21 LONDON The Rifles Club, 52-56 Davies Street, Mayfair, www.rosiekay.co.uk/rifles-club-performance/
May 26 SOUTH SHIELDS The Customs House 0191 454 1234 www.customshouse.co.uk
May 27 BARNSLEY The Civic 0845 180 0363 www.barnsleycivic.co.uk
June 1 NOTTINGHAM Lakeside Arts Centre 0115 951 4764 www.lakesidearts.org.uk
June 3 JERSEY Jersey Arts Centre 01534 700444 www.thisisjersey.co.uk
June 11 TAUNTON The Brewhouse Theatre 01823 274 608 www.thebrewhouse.net
5 SOLDIERS was a commission by International Dance Festival Birmingham 2012 and was co-commissioned by Warwick Arts Centre. The work was supported by The Rayne Foundation and The Big Idea, Arts Council England and the 4th Battalion The Rifles, The Rifles Club and Care for Casualties. Thanks to Headely Court and 26 Engineers.