THIS IS NOT A WEDDING

“Bold and defiant...it’s in the dance sequences that most of the impressive material lies, bringing movement which lingers somewhere between mania, fierce intensity and playful seduction to the fore with mesmerising contortions and synchronisation...

...there’s no denying that this is a bold company delivering bold experimental work which screams contemporary defiance into the ears of convention. With a finger raised on each hand. And a deadpan stare. With bared teeth. And a pretty dress for good measure, naturally…

...If you like your entertainment quirky and your theatre radically abstract, This is Not a Wedding should fit the bill.” Always Time For Theatre

Expect to laugh, cry and shimmy along to the classics whilst four bridal-clad women attempt to entertain, delight and maintain their dignity in a desperate last ditch effort to work out what the hell it all means.

Witness a generation’s experience of pressure, conformity & expectation in this radical and apocalyptic reimagining of some of our most recognisable ceremonies. As time runs out and the clock counts down, four defiant brides attempt to please everyone and no one, forging their own absurd path through the wilderness of tradition. Using their signature concoction of wildly entertaining dance theatre, Gracefool invite YOU to be guests at the non-wedding event of the year as they attempt to come to terms with coming of age in a high pressure, low tolerance, success driven society.

It’s not a wedding, but it is a celebration, and everyone is invited.

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Co-commissioned by Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Yorkshire Dance and The Place, supported by Arts Council England. Selected to be part of BBC & One Dance UK’s Dance Passion Day 2019, celebrating the best of British Dance. This Is Not A Wedding was voted by the BBC as one of the top 9 amazing moments of day and undertook an 18 date national tour in 2019.

“The company has a real gift for striking physical imagery, visual imagination and the use of unconventional, memorable gestural work in witty and unexpected combinations.” British Theatre Guide

“Fantastically tongue-in-cheek.” Exeunt

“Through frenzied dance numbers, panicked speeches, and a lot of running in circles, (This Is Not A Wedding) descends magnificently into chaos. It was just as brilliant as it sounds—with the tone ricocheting from pantomime comedy into thick and pensive silences...

I loved how engaged everyone was (whether entertained and refreshed, or thoughtful and slightly scandalised)—I found it really empowering.” Evie Scott, The Witham Online Blog

Banner photo: Drazen Priganica, design by Alphabet

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