Dance Nation

Description

"Barron paints a wholly plausible picture of teenage insecurity and ambition ... a play that wittily shows how dance can be a source of liberation without ever quelling the tremulous terrors of adolescence." - The Guardian Somewhere in America, a revolution is coming. An army of competitive dancers is ready to take over the world, one routine at a time. With a pre-teen battle for power and perfection raging on and off stage, Dance Nation is a ferocious exploration of youth, ambition and self-discovery. Winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and The Relentless Award, Dance Nation is Clare Barron's explosive play about the challenges of being young, and competitive dancing. Published for the first time in Methuen Drama's Modern Classics series, this edition features a brand new introduction by Eboni Booth and Purva Bedi.

Clare Barron is a playwright and performer from Wenatchee, Washington. In addition to Dance Nation, her plays include You Got Older, which received its world premiere with Page 73 Productions and later appeared at Steppenwolf (Obie Award for Playwriting, Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding Play, #1 most-recommended play on The Kilroy's List, and Susan Smith Blackburn finalist); I'll Never Love Again, which premiered at The Bushwick Starr in 2016 and was a New York Times Critics' Pick, and Baby Screams Miracle, which premiered at Clubbed Thumb and subsequently was produced at Woolly Mammoth. She won the James Tait Black Prize for Drama in 2019 and was a finalist for the Pulitizer.

[A] flat-out extraordinary play... nothing here is remotely predictable... Barron channels the rollercoaster emotions of adolescence: her girls are electric with potential, heavy with self-doubt... I loved it. * Times * Barron paints a wholly plausible picture of teenage insecurity and ambition... a play that wittily shows how dance can be a source of liberation without ever quelling the tremulous terrors of adolescence. * Guardian * Though occasionally we witness the joy of adolescence, mostly this is a vision of its messy strangeness. Barron makes it clear that her characters are fierce and feral. They're played by adults, with the result that we sense the repercussions of their teenage turmoil - a time of fear and sharp-fanged rivalry... a perceptive account of the pain and wonder of growing up, witty about the ways in which the young are programmed to behave, and memorably alert to the particular power of female adolescence. * Evening Standard * Barron has a brilliant ear for the almost monotonous self-deprecation of young girl speak... in Barron's signature achievement, 'Dance Nation' segues into scenes that border on magical realism. At the gentler end, one girl, Maeve (Nancy Crane) offers a dreamy account of her belief that she has the ability to fly. Elsewhere, though, 'Dance Nation' seethes with maenad frenzy. * Time Out London *