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Lloyd Newson

LLOYD NEWSON

  
Nationality:    British
email:    n/a     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    n/a

Lloyd Newson's plays including biography, theatres, agent, synopses, cast sizes, production and published dates

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below is a list of Lloyd Newson's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Bein' A Part, Lonely Art         Bound To Please         Can We Afford This / The Cost of Living         Can We Talk About This?         Dead Dreams Of Monochrome Men         Deep End         Elemen T[h]ree Sex         Entre Achilles         Entre Achilles III         Happiest Day of My Life, The         If Only         John         Just For Show         Living Costs         MSM - Men Seeking Sex With Men         My Body, Your Body         My Sex, Our Dance         Strange Fish         To Be Straight With You

Bein' A Part, Lonely Art

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1985

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
dance piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Bound To Please

Synopsis:
Do we shut out those who tell the truth or smile with those who hide it? We feel Bound To Please . . .. regularly silencing our own opinions and feelings in order to get along. Social etiquette defines how we should behave. But . . .. "Why accept adversity? Why be mature? Why surrender with grace the follies of youth? Why put up with the bullshit?" Elizabeth Wurtzel, Prozac Nation. The ability of dance to explore a wide range of emotional states has been restricted by its limited definition of what constitutes dance and its preoccupations with physical perfection and beauty. What effect does this have on the psyche of dancers? In its honouring of beauty and its denial of human difference, has dance become nothing more than the Prozac of the art forms?

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Theaterhaus Gessnerallee, Zurich    26 Feb 1997

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
dance piece 70 min

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Can We Afford This / The Cost of Living

Synopsis:
Less a dance show, more an acerbic cabaret on the perils of consumerism

Notes:
Originally commissioned by Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festivals

1st Produced:
Everest Theatre, Seymour Centre, Sydney, Australia    16 Aug 2000

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Piece

Parts:
Male:  9            Female:  8            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Can We Talk About This?

Synopsis:
From the 1989 book burnings of Salman Rusdie's the Satanic Verses, to the murder of filmmaker theo Van Gogh and the controversy of the 'muhammad cartoons' in 2005, DV8's new production examines how these events have reflected and influenced multicultural policies, freedom of speech and censorship. Can We Talk About This? is based on real voices and interviews with leading figures from across the religious, political, cultural and social spectrum, including MPs, high profile authors and journalists.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Sydney Opera House, Australia    Aug 2011

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece 80 min

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  7            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Dead Dreams Of Monochrome Men

Synopsis:
I was left with an endless search through the soul-destroying pub scene and its resulting one-night stands. . .passing faces and bodies, the unfulfilled tokens of an empty life. a house is not a home and sex is not a relationship. We would only lend each other our bodies in a vain search for inner peace. Dennis Nilson. DV8's latest work for four men, explores through non-narrative dance theatre the interwoven notions of loneliness, desire and trust. the men enact private rituals which become disturbing in their familiarity. When does the ordinary become extraordinary? their actions push the boundary of naturalism to the extreme, the space becomes a landscape of loneliness where "nature makes no provision for emotional death" and men are left to resurrect their own lives.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Third Eye Centre, Glasgow    05 Oct 1988

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
dance piece 80 min

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Deep End

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
inaugural Spring Loaded season

1st Produced:
The Place, London    19 Feb 1987

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
dance piece

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Elemen T[h]ree Sex

Synopsis:
a translation into violent physical terms of the habitual traps of male and female relationships. [ from programme leaflet ] This explosive post-Modernist dance deals with relationships and stereotypes. Habitual hypocracy and deceit are exposed in a controversial menage a trois, revealing the full power of this extraordinary and visually stunning physical theatre. [ from the booking sheet ]

Notes:
Commissioned by Yorkshire Arts

1st Produced:
Bretton Hall College, Wakefield, UK    01 Apr 1987

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
dance piece 30 min

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Entre Achilles

Synopsis:
DV8's new project (Enter Achilles) looks beyond the issues of sexuality to the fundamental question of what constitutes masculinity. Why do men police each others' behaviour, ever-ready to detect and eliminate unmanly activity, be it through ridicule, intimidation and/or threat? Why should non-conformity produce so much abhorrence and fear?

Notes:
Co-produced by Wiener Festwochen And the Royal Festival Hall with Dance Umbrella

1st Produced:
Vienna Festwochen, Vienna, Austria    07 Jun 1995

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
dance piece 75 min

Parts:
Male:  8            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Entre Achilles III

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Stranmillis College - Belfast    1998

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
dance piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Happiest Day of My Life, The

Synopsis:
Everyone loves a wedding. DV8's The Happiest Day of My Life, mixes the surreal with the suburban, explores relationships and fantasies and exposes what is swept beneath the carpeted land of convention in the pursuit of love. Choreography, film, music and some amazing surprises make this their most spectacular production yet.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Dansens Hus, Stockholm    20 May 1999

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
dance piece 90 min

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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If Only

Synopsis:
DV8 Physical theatre's new work is a direct response to the despair and loneliness evoked by their last production, Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men, in which the performers were slaves to their desires and the environment they inhabited, victims of the sadness and oppression which surrounded them. "if only . . ." looks at our attempts to determine the paths our lives take, examining the relentless search for fulfillment, and the belief that there is something better within our reach, if only we knew where and how to find it.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Festival d'Ete de Seine Maritime, Rouen, France    19 Jun 1990

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
dance piece 80 min

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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John

Synopsis:
John is a new verbatim dance-theatre work by Lloyd Newson, Artistic Director of DV8 Physical Theatre. Newson interviewed more than 50 men asking them frank questions, initially about love and sex. One of those men was John. What emerged was a story that is both extraordinary and touching. Years of crime, drug use and struggling to survive lead John on a search in which his life converges with others, in an unexpected place, unknown by most. JOHN authentically depicts real-life stories, where movement and spoken word combine to create an intense, moving and poignant theatrical experience. . . .and that's why I come here, because it's another door that's opened, you never know where this is gonna lead.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
dance piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  9 perfomers

Further Reference:

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Just For Show

Synopsis:
about "showing off in a world where looking good has become more essential than being good; where faking it has become more synonymous with making it; where beauty lies hide grubby truths"

Notes:
conceived And directed by Lloyd Newson

1st Produced:
Brighton Dome    07 May 2005

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Piece, 75 min Piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  10 perfomers

Further Reference:

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Living Costs

Synopsis:
A promenade performance through the public spaces, incorporating dance, circus, physical daring and visual spectacle, with specially commissioned video projection, soundtrack and live music. The work combines new material with elements of The Cost of Living to explore the building's architecture from the Turbine Hall to the seventh floor - Low and High art/living.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Tate Modern, London    19 May 2003

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
dance piece

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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MSM - Men Seeking Sex With Men

Synopsis:
MSM is a sociological term that was created to refer to men who have sex with men in public toilets, colloquialy referred to as cottaging. the term was coined because many of the men involved refuse to identify themselves as gay despite their activities. In fact it is mainly men who describe themselves as heterosexual who seek out sex in this way. ". . . . . one might have expected that men indulging in anonymous sexual exchanges in lavatories would prove to be lonely, socially alienated, unmarried, and possibly ageing homosexuals. In fact it appears that the majority were married and predominantly heterosexual." Laud Humphreys, Tearoom Trade This new work from DV8 returns to the subject of male sexuality and looks at what it is that gives rise to the need for sex characterised by chance encounters, anonymity and the possibility of arrest or violence. the piece will act as a mirror to a wider world where we all have hidden secrets, where we all descriminate against others. It will be a place where private fantasies are enacted, fantasies which often reveal too much about ourselves. It will look at our desire to step outside the boundaries of society, to risk situations loaded with danger and fear in order to keep feeling alive. Members of DV8 interviewed 50 men of different ages, backgrounds and sexualities, investigating their desires, fantasies and realities. the fear and liberation, the violence laced with sexual immediacy, the complicated emotional reactions so far revealed by this research all point to a dense psychological work.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Theatre d'Aujourd'hui, Montreal    30 Sep 1993

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
dance piece 90 min

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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My Body, Your Body

Synopsis:
My Body, Your Body is loosely based on a book entitled "Women Who Love Too Much" by Robin Norwood. the initial inspiration for this work was the result of letters and a tape recording of a close female friend who 'loved too much'. My Body, Your Body started with the story of one woman but has ended up being shared by many. Consequently, in addition to my own company, I'd like to thank the third year Ba students at Leicester Polytechnic for their commitment and honesty when the preliminary work was created in December 1986. also thanks to the late Company of Cracks for their initial support and stories which helped form the basis of this work. - Lloyd Newson God said unto woman: "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thy shall bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." Genesis, Chapter III verse xvi

Notes:
First version created in December 1986 with 3rd year BA students at Leicester

1st Produced:
University of Essex Theatre, Colchester, UK    28 Oct 1987

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
dance piece 90 min

Parts:
Male:  8            Female:  8            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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My Sex, Our Dance

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
devised And created collaboratively by Lloyd Newson And Nigel Charnock

1st Produced:

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Piece

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Strange Fish

Synopsis:
This piece is about friendship, Lloyd explains, "and about the search for something or someone to believe in. It looks at how misunderstandings affect our relationships and how in turn these begin to influence what we ultimately believe. It questions whether our need for love and intimacy saves or enslaves us. Is it lack of belief in ourselves that drives us to place our hopes in things beyond our immediate lives? the need to maintain faith and belief often distorts perception: through anticipation and expectation we create situations in our minds that can never match reality and by doing so perpetuate dissatisfaction with what life has to offer."

Notes:
Commissioned by eXPO 92 (Seville), Britain At eXPO

1st Produced:
Teatro Central, Seville, Spain    20 May 1992

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
dance piece

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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To Be Straight With You

Synopsis:
the persecution of people because of their sexual orientation is every bit as unjust as that crime against humanity, apartheid. We must all be allowed to love with honour.' Archbishop Desmond Tutu. DV8's Artistic Director Lloyd Newsons leads a multi-ethnic cast in a poetic but unflinching exploration of tolerance, intolerance, religion and sexuality. DV8's new show is based on hundreds of hours of audio interviews collected throughout the UK with people directly affected by these issues.

Notes:
A work conceived And directed by Lloyd Newsons

1st Produced:
Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Berlin, Germany    06 Dec 2007

Organisations:
DV8

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  9 perfomers

Further Reference:

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