In its daring To Be Straight With You artistic director Lloyd Newson leads a multi-ethnic cast in a poetic but unflinching exploration of tolerance, intolerance, religion and sexuality. Drawing on 85 interviews-with the pious and apostate, straight and gay, activist and mere passer-by-Newson merges dance with spoken word, recorded sound, video and animation. The result is a controversial piece that demands to know how modern society will reconcile faith and human rights.
Directed and conceived by Lloyd Newson, DV8 Physical Theatre was formed in 1986. The company has produced 16 highly acclaimed dance pieces, which have toured internationally, and four award-winning films for television. As Newson’s work is content-based, he casts according to subject matter and performers’ suitability for each new project. Consequently DV8 has no permanent company of performers. Over the years many people have contributed towards the success of DV8 - many extraordinary performers, a succession of administrative and technical teams and the company’s board of directors.
DV8’s work stems from Newson’s personal interests in social, psychological and political issues. Interested in conceiving original work rather than performing existing plays or reinterpreting classical ballets, he has recently started exploring verbatim theatre, looking at the relationship between text (drawn from interviews) and movement like in To Be Straight With You. The Belfast Telegraph declares To Be Straight With You, “explores attitudes of tolerance and intolerance towards homosexuality, through culture and religion, in a fascinatingly multiumedia approach.”
Single tickets are on sale now. UCLA Live at Royce Hall, 340 Royce Drive, Westwood. Friday and Saturday, Nov 6-7 at 8 p.m. $24-$48. ($15 UCLA Students.) (310) 825-2101,www.uclalive.org.
