About Detention

5 Stars
Its stunning combination of movement, music and imagery makes for an unforgettable work of angry, emotional, celebratory, political dance.
The Herald on Sunday, on WASTELAND, 2023

5 Stars
A truly wonderful piece of dance-theatre: humane, politically charged, by turns funny and sad.
The Stage, on WASTELAND, 2023

In 1988, a piece of legislation from Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Government devastated lives.

DETENTION, Gary Clarke Company's new dance theatre sequel to COAL and WASTELAND, explores SECTION 28, which 'prohibited the promotion of homosexuality', forcing the LGBT+ community into a place of secrecy, fear and shame; set to a backdrop of nationwide industrial turmoil and the onslaught of AIDS.

Gary Clarke uses powerful storytelling drawing on verbatim testimonies with vivid choreography performed by a company of exceptional dancers, a narrator, and local cast of LGBT+ people. Featuring music tracks by iconic DJ TEST DEPT, DETENTION is a bold and moving portrayal of the remarkable resilience of the individuals and organisations of the time.

About Gary Clarke Company

Co-founded in 2015 and led by Artistic Director Gary Clarke and Executive Producer Annabel Dunbar, Gary Clarke Company is a pioneering, award-winning dance theatre company based in South Yorkshire. Renowned for high impact, high quality and high legacy work, the company tours extensively to middle scale venues across the UK, most recently the award-winning COAL (2016 – 2018) and critically acclaimed WASTELAND (2019/20 – 2023).

About Gary Clarke

Gary Clarke is an acclaimed British Choreographer, Performer and Movement Director. His theatrical dance works have toured extensively both nationally and internationally to critical and audience acclaim. Gary’s work has received a number of awards including A UK Theatre Award for Achievement in Dance (COAL) and A Critics Circle National Dance Award (COAL). He has also created stage and site-specific work for a number of companies and organisations including The National Theatre, Opera North and The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Gary has worked as a movement specialist on a number of large scale feature films including World War Z and The Mummy. In 2017, Gary was appointed as an honorary fellow at The Northern School of Contemporary Dance.

Cast & Creatives

Artistic Direction: Gary Clarke

Producer: Annabel Dunbar

Set & Costume Design: Ryan Dawson Laight

Lighting Design: Joshie Harriette

Composer / Sound Design: Torben Sylvest

Music Collaborators: TEST DEPT

Film Maker: Kamal Macdonald

Dramaturg: Lou Cope

Script & Text: Adam Zmith

Thatcher Voiceover: Steve Nallon

Dancers to be announced.