DISCOTHEQUE
Photography by Brian Hartley.
The Show
An audience of teenagers enters a discotheque. Pop songs blasting. Bodies moving. Hormones raging. Then the slow song comes on. There's that suspension. That tension. And our show begins.
DISCOTHEQUE is a glittering, wild, sometimes raunchy piece of dance-theatre for teenagers and everybody who once was one. An ensemble of eight pushes the often-hidden feelings that teenagers have about sex right to the surface. This is a raucous teenage disco where all desires are welcome: the good, the bad and the twisted. DISCOTHEQUE is not a cautionary tale. It's not a documentary. Nor is it an education. This is a show about lust not love.
For this project, Shotput was an Accelerator Artist at Imaginate from 2019-21. Research and development begins in 2023, with premiere and tour aimed for 2025-26.
CREDITS
Created in collaboration with the full company.
Concept and direction | Lucy Ireland and Jim Manganello
Creative producer | Helen McIntosh
Scenic and costume designer | Anna Yates
Lighting designer | Emma Jones
Video designer | Rob Willoughby
Ensemble | Jack Anderson, Annie Dearnley, Tess Letham, Eoin McKenzie, Yandass Ndlovu, Anwar Russell, Ania Varez, Claire Willoughby
Production manager | Fi Fraser
Podcast producer | Amanda Stanley
Podcast composer | Cat Myers
Illustration by Ashwin Chacko.
The Podcast
The Slow Dance is a podcast in which teens talk to teens about sex. Shotput spoke with dozens of teens around Scotland and Europe in order to create a frank portrait of how teens feel about sex today. The first episode was released on 30 April 2021. You can listen below!
DISCOTHEQUE has been supported by Platform, Tramway, Imaginate, The Work Room, Cumbernauld Theatre, Scottish Opera, National Theatre of Scotland, The Place, Contact, Bristol Old Vic, Dance City, and Northern Stage.
For support with The Slow Dance, many thanks to Lyth Arts Centre, Platform, Aberdeen Performing Arts, Beacon Arts Centre, Tramway, Firefly Arts, Ayr Gaiety, Grangemouth High School, Musselburgh Grammar School, Imaginate, Teatercentrum, Scenekunstbruket and all the teenagers who took part.