The internationally acclaimed all-male dance company BalletBoyz® will present Young Men at Wilton’s Music Hall from 13–17 November, choreographed by Iván Pérez to a live version of the score, composed by cult singer songwriter Keaton Henson. It will be a new adaptation of the work, a portrayal of soldiers’ lives as part of the final 14–18 NOW season which marks the centenary of the armistice.
The boys will bring to life their Rose d’Or award-winning film and sell-out stage production of Young Men in this new hybrid adaptation of live dance and film. In this new production, the company will perform sections from the original stage version against the backdrop of their debut feature film. Young Men chronicles the experiences of young soldiers sent to fight in The Great War in a deeply moving portrayal of the desolation of warfare. Originally conceived for stage and premiering at London’s Sadler’s Wells in January 2015, it was subsequently adapted for screen in a commission by the BBC and saw BalletBoyz become the first ever dance company to present a full-length feature film.
Artistic Directors Michael Nunn OBE and William Trevitt OBE continue the company’s reputation for innovative use of film in Young Men, adapting Iván Pérez’s evocative stage and film choreography, and Keaton Henson’s haunting score to interweave live dance, music and film in their debut performance at Wilton’s Music Hall.
Young Men is co-commissioned by BalletBoyz and 14–18 NOW, the UK’s arts programme for the First World War centenary, with support from the National Lottery through Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund and from the Department for Digital Culture Media and Sport.