It is always such a joy to discover what is playing at Wilton’s Music Hall in London. In the mid-19th-century it was a grand music hall attached to an 18th-century terrace of three houses and a pub. Originally an alehouse dating from 1743 or earlier, it may well have served the Scandinavian sea captains and wealthy merchants who lived in neighbouring Wellclose Square.
Its been through many changes over the centuries and Wilton’s reopened as a theatre and concert hall with a production of T. S. Eliot‘s The Waste Land, starring Fiona Shaw in 1996. It however wasnt until June 2017 that it was loving restored to its former glamour and the World Monuments Fund added the building to its list of the world’s “100 most endangered sites”
It seems therefore only appropriate that what happens inside reflects the unique nature of this re markable space. This spring the Rendez-Vous Dance a contemporary dance company will be bringing Le Monocle. The show is inspired by the notorious lesbian Parisian club, Le Monocle, where women would meet to dance away the evenings together in the 1920’s and 30’s. Combining live music with highly physical dance, The Monocle brings to life the feel of 1930’s Paris in a truly safe space.
Led by artistic director, Mathieu Geffre, Rendez-Vous dance has a history of engaging LGBTQIA+ people, themes, and voices across all of its work, advocating for values of inclusivity, diversity and representation. For this piece, Mathieu has worked with a collaborative team on the themes of lesbianism, safe spaces and LGBTQIA+ history to ensure the work authentically tells the story.
Choreographed by Geffré, The Monocle has been conceived in collaboration with creative consultants on the themes of safe space and lesbianism, Hedley Sugar Wells, LGBTQIA+ historian consultant Florence Tamagne, production manager Rachel Shipp, and Associate Director Andrew Gardiner.
After Wilton’s Music Hall, London on (17 May), the Tour will continue DanceEast, Ipswich (7 June),
Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham (13 June), Enable US, Sheffield (15 June), Exeter Northcott (26 June)
and Guildhall Arts Centre, Grantham (28 June).
