The Thrill Of It All

It’s bright under the lights, and hot, and frightening. Nine performers in grubby tuxedos and tarnished sequins play out a comical and disconcerting vaudeville to the strains of Japanese lounge music.

After the minimalism of Spectacular and the animated graphic novel of Void Story, internationally renowned innovators Forced Entertainment return with a large cast on a big stage, filled with ragged dances and distorted voices.

Deranged dancing girls swirl, giggle, bicker and stray ever further from the point. Shabby comperes compete for the microphone and the audience’s laughter as the show itself slowly starts to unravel. Dances end in fights, jokes end in confusion and sentimental stories end in arguments in this unsettling and extraordinary performance.

Forced Entertainment’s trademark collaborative process – devising work as a group through improvisation, experimentation and debate – has made them pioneers of British avant-garde theatre and earned them an unparalleled international reputation.

“Confounding conventions and exploding audience expectations.” The Times

“The reckless Forced Entertainment beat theatre to smithereens.” Cutting Edge

Post-Show Talk Tue 19 Oct

Official website

Co-producers: Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels), Hebbel am Ufer (Berlin), PACT Zollverein (Essen), Theatre Garonne (Toulouse), Les Spectacles vivants – Centre Pompidou in collaboration with Festival d’Automne (Paris). This production is supported by Sheffield City Council.