{"id":337519,"date":"2026-03-19T14:22:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T14:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/337519\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T14:22:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T14:22:09","slug":"russell-t-daviess-hit-tv-series-its-a-sin-to-be-adapted-as-visceral-dance-show-dance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/337519\/","title":{"rendered":"Russell T Davies\u2019s hit TV series It\u2019s a Sin to be adapted as \u2018visceral\u2019 dance show | Dance"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a Sin, the award-winning TV series about friendship during the 1980s Aids crisis, is to be adapted for the stage as a dance show. The new production is being developed by Rambert who had a hit in 2022 with its prequel<\/a> to the TV series Peaky Blinders.<\/p>\n

The creator of It\u2019s a Sin, Russell T Davies, is executive producer on the new work which will be choreographed and directed by Benoit Swan Pouffer<\/a>, Rambert\u2019s artistic director. \u201cStorytelling sits at the heart of Rambert\u2019s mission,\u201d said Pouffer on Thursday. \u201cCollaborating with Russell \u2013 one of the most powerful storytellers of our time \u2013 is incredibly exciting. Together we\u2019re exploring how dance and choreography can carry urgent, emotional narratives in a visceral way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pet Shop Boys, whose 1987 single gave the TV series its title, are also serving as executive producers on the show. They said the series \u201ccompellingly presented the reality and tragedy of the Aids crisis to a mass audience\u201d and that they were \u201cproud to be involved as this poignant and important story is interpreted in a different medium\u201d. The pop duo\u2019s regular collaborators, Luke Halls Studio, will provide set and video design for a production that will blend archive material with contemporary dance. The music will be composed by Roman GianArthur, part of Janelle Mon\u00e1e\u2019s Wondaland Arts Society collective, and will evoke \u201cthe glamour, defiance and emotional intensity of 1980s queer life\u201d according to a press statement.<\/p>\n

\u2018Collaborating is incredibly exciting\u2019 \u2026 It\u2019s a Sin creator Russell T Davies (left) and Rambert\u2019s artistic director Benoit Swan Pouffer. Photograph: Max Cisotti\/PA<\/p>\n

The show is co-produced by Factory International and will open at its \u00a3240m venue, Aviva Studios in Manchester, at a date yet to be announced. It is then set to tour. Davies said: \u201cIt\u2019s a Sin was such a special show for me, and it\u2019s one of the greatest honours of my life to have the show transformed by Rambert into something new and exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

The writer had previously expressed uncertainty about adapting the Channel 4 series for the stage. In 2024, three years after it first aired, he told the Radio Times<\/a> that he had been encouraged to turn it into a musical. \u201cI just wanted to move on,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to wallow. It was very strange, with its success \u2013 it was very hard to celebrate, because it was this enormous success and yet such a tragic true story \u2026 I just didn\u2019t want to stay there. I thought, \u2018I\u2019ve done it\u2019, and I felt like I\u2019d be treading water or trying to repeat a success or almost profiting off something that\u2019s very dark.\u201d He acknowledged at the time that he \u201cmight go back to it one day\u201d.<\/p>\n

Crossover success \u2026 Rambert\u2019s Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby. Photograph: Tristram Kenton\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

The TV series followed a group of young gay men who move to London in 1981 and find freedom and friendship, yet navigate the horror of the unfolding HIV\/Aids crisis during the decade. It won best new drama at the National Television<\/a> awards in 2021 and many other prizes.<\/p>\n

Rambert, founded as a ballet company in London by Polish \u00e9migr\u00e9 Marie Rambert, is celebrating its centenary this year. It\u2019s a Sin is co-produced with Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, Capital Theatres in Edinburgh, Les Th\u00e9\u00e2tres de la Ville in Luxembourg and Sadler\u2019s Wells in London. In 2011, Sadler\u2019s Wells presented the dance show The Most Incredible Thing<\/a> which featured an original score by Pet Shop Boys.<\/p>\n

In recent years, dance companies have had considerable success in reaching new audiences by adapting TV series as well as films. Aviva Studios opened in 2023 with Free Your Mind<\/a>, a production based on The Matrix with choreography from Kenrick \u201cH20\u201d Sandy. This month, Northern Ballet unveiled its touring version of Gentleman Jack, based on Sally Wainwright\u2019s hit TV series<\/a> about the 19th-century lesbian diarist Anne Lister.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s a Sin, the award-winning TV series about friendship during the 1980s Aids crisis, is to be adapted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337520,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[430,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-337519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337519\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}