Event Info
Age Guidance: Age: 16+ years due to the nature of movement, nudity and content.
Running Time: 60 minutes no interval + Post Show Talk in the Studio
The Revenge of Popperface introduces Popperface, returning from the dead as the puffed-up, blue-lipped embodiment of excessive amyl nitrate (poppers) consumption. This shadow-self, or alter ego, of artist Gareth Chambers invites audiences to witness the crafting of personal mythologies through dance, mixed martial arts, and boxing, in an experimental exploration of masculinity. The occult and the operatic throb together, building towards a subterranean crescendo, while bathed in the stretched songs of French disco pioneer — and Salvador Dalí’s muse — Amanda Lear.
Biography:
POPPERFACE disrupts traditional choreographic methodologies, creating performances rooted in working-class experience, queer masculinity, and radical individualism. His practice draws from MMA, boxing, dance theatre, and opera, forging a movement language that is both physically explosive and emotionally charged.
In 2021, he was Associate Director at Welsh National Opera and a Jerwood Fellow. The first instalment of the POPPERFACE trilogy, REVENGE, premiered at Chapter Arts Centre and The Place in 2022 and its sequel GOONERS, received a preview showing at Transform 23 and remains in development.
As a performer and collaborator, POPPERFACE has worked with Doris Ulrich, Malik Nashad Sharpe, Blackhaine, and Anushiye Yarnell and has performed at major venues including The Place, Wales Millennium Centre, ICA, and Laban Theatre.
Artistic Team:
Choreographer - Popperface aka Gareth Chambers
Producer - Sara Sassanelli
Performers - Richard Pye and Louis Ellis
Sound - Rainy Miller
Language of performance: English
Content guidance: Fake blood, Haze, Nudity, Incense, Flashing Lights, Aggro Movement
Access Needs: Please contact us to book if you have any access needs that will require suitable seating or if you need a designated wheelchair space.
