SHADES OF BLUE
The revolution cannot be televised. Shades of Blue is a work that beats to the tune of change through the means of a potent mix of dance, poetry, theatre and music where performance and protest clash, flirt and mould.
Conceived by artistic brothers Kel and Anthony Matsena, Shades of Blue is a work crafted for our times. Delivered by a cast of nine performers, the work traverses through thunderous choreography, quivering text and a slick but trembling score that will not only make the audience rethink their position in society but celebrate a stronger future which we all have a part in moulding.
Artistic Directors: Anthony Matsena & Kel Matsena
Associate Director: Arnold Matsena
Lighting Designer: Ryan Joseph Stafford
Associate Lighting Designer: Charly Dunford
Dramaturg: Alfred Enoch
Assistant Writer: Charlie Layburn
Music Composer: Beth Lewis
Music Composer: Lara Agar
Costume Designer: Cory Shipp
Rehearsal Director: Olivia Grassot
Co-produced by Sadler’s Wells and DanceEast. Supported by Taliesin Arts Centre, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Black History Wales, Messums Wiltshire, Race Council Cymru, Swansea Grand Theatre, Arts Council England and Arts Council Wales.
"The movement doesn’t just happen, it detonates: a feeling consolidated by Ryan Joseph Stafford’s epic lighting effects" - Louise Levene, The Financial Times
"There is no grand finale, just a political message that punches right between the eyes. It is daring, bold and essential viewing." - Maggie Foyer, SeeingDance
"The cast of nine burst on to the stage with intense energy, projected outwards in a flurry of isolations, pops and freezes (the Matsenas’ background is in hip-hop, but they bring the same raw urgency to more contemporary moves), yet directed inwards it becomes increasingly tormented and destructive.” - Lyndsey Winship, The Guardian
