We Raise Our Hands in the Sanctuary

Inky Cloak and the Albany present:
We Raise Our Hands in the Sanctuary
 
Developed as part of the Albany Theatre’s Hatched new writing programme.
Tuesday 31 January – Saturday 11 February, 7:30pm

With gentrification sweeping away LGBT clubs and pubs in the capital, although Inky Cloak’s new work is set in the 1980’s, the themes of We Raise Our Hands in the Sanctuary stand as true today as they did then, exploring the importance of queer spaces and highlighting why club culture matters on a political, emotional and human rights level.

Based on a time when gay club culture was truly emerging and the LGBT community were finally realising a way to channel their fear and repression into hope and defiance, this piece of theatre combines naturalistic drama, contemporary dance and underground nightclubbing culture, following the journey of 2 two best friends set out to build their own underground club. A place of pure escapism where prejudice, poverty and bigotry could be forgotten for a few hours, this space provided a sanctuary to a community desperately discriminated against, living against a backdrop of desperate levels of unemployment, riots, driven by racism, and AIDS casually reported as a gay plague.

Choreographed by accomplished director Mina Aidoo, the performance keeps the dancers at the very center of the performance. Neither a recreation nor a pastiche of the styles of social dancing of the era, instead the movement uses the techniques and tools of contemporary dance, combined with the heart of disco, to explore the themes of sexuality, masculinity and race that are intrinsic to the show.

To book tickets: www.thealbany.org.uk

Written by Jordan Crowley