Meet the cast of The Dead Dogs by Jon Fosse

We are very excited to be able to announce the stunning new cast for our production of The Dead Dogs by Jon Fosse!

Danny Horn, Valerie Gogan, Jennie Gruner, Sam Redford, William Troughton

The Dramaturg

A note our wonderful IGNIS dramaturg Laura Farnworth.

Last summer, I was extremely lucky to be introduced to Hubert Essakow by Anda Winters. Hubert was looking for a dramaturg for his next dance show and the project intrigued me. Although primarily a theatre director, I previously trained as a ballet dancer, and so I was really excited by the opportunity of re-igniting my love of dance and combining it with my love of narrative and theatre. To learn that Sara Kestelman was also involved was amazing and I was so excited by the challenge of how we could create a fusion between dance and theatre.

In early conversations, it became clear to Hubert and I that we were particularly inspired by the idea of exploring fire as a metaphor for our emotions. We talked a lot about what fire meant to us in human terms and how it made us think of our ambitions, passions and loves. And so we became interested in the story of an older woman who is looking back on her life, meeting and coming to terms with her memories, regrets and lost loves. It seemed to make sense that the dancers would be these memories, dancing around and interacting with her through a series of vignette encounters.

During the research and development I learnt that Sara was also an excellent poet. Sara’s poems really spoke to Hubert and I - we felt they captured the tone and emotion we wanted to establish in the piece. Sara was extremely open to including her poems in IGNIS and she generously worked with me, listening to my ideas and making several adaptations - in fact a new poem, which Sara called IGNIS, was born out of the process by merging together several of her original poems. 

Working in dance is obviously very different to the world of theatre. In dance you can afford to be abstract, but in theatre, because it generally involves speaking, or at least characters, you are immediately in some kind of human story. What has been excellent for me about this process is learning how to approach story in a whole new way. Hubert and I knew the framework of the story we wanted to base the show around – but for me, it was more a case of finding the opportunities to tell this story in the choreography that Hubert was making, rather than imposing it on the performers. The result I hope is a journey that is accessible to many, but that remains open to individual interpretation and experience. 

IGNIS Talks with Dr Cindy Lawford

Tuesday 18 February, The Print Room will host a very special Q&A session with choreographer Hubert Essakow, designer Lee Newby, composer Jon Opstad, dramaturg Laura Farnworth and actor Sara Kestelman.  Dr. Cindy Lawford will lead the discussion, looking into IGNIS’s unique creation over several months.  The artists will explain how the dance piece gained narrative shape, what the particular inspirations for the music were, set design and choreography, and what it has been like to dance – quite literally – with fire.

Tuesday 25 February, Dr. Cindy Lawford will give a post-show talk, detailing the story of IGNIS’s complex birth and how Sara Kestelman’s poetry found its way into the piece.

Dr Cindy Lawford’s talks have become a vital thread in the fabric of The Print Room, offering audiences the chance to gain extra insight into the creative process of our performances.  They also provide a forum for audiences to ask questions and discuss their own thoughts and feeling.

For more information on our Outreach Manager, Dr Cindy Laword you can check out her WEBSITE.

And to book tickets for either of the talks please call The Print Room box office on 020 7221 6036.


N.B. The Performance time for IGNIS is roughly 1 hour and the talks will take place after the show and will last 20 minutes.