Gracefool Collective Presents Dance Comedy THIS REALLY IS TOO MUCH in London and Leeds

Kate Cox, Sofia Edstrand, Rachel Fullegar and Rebecca Holmberg are Gracefool Collective. Today, the group of innovative and exciting female dance artists announce performances of This really is too much at Blue Elephant Theatre, London on 11 & 12 November 2016 and Yorkshire Dance, Leeds on 26 May 2017.

This really is too much, originally commissioned by Northern School of Contemporary Dance's 'Northern Connections' programme, is an outlandish, bold and entertaining genre-busting performance. It delves into a world of farcical stereotypes and preposterous power struggles. With irreverent physicality, four characters wrestle with restriction, gender identity as they try to work out which box they fit into.

Raucous and thought provoking in equal measure, This really is too much reveals the downright absurd realities of what it means to be a 3-dimensional, high definition, water-drinking, salad-eating, moisturising woman in modern society.

In This really is too much, four women attempt political speeches, job interviews and talent contests, exposing life as one continuous performance. They fight themselves, each other and society's expectations to be individual, political, beautiful, popular and in control, striving to be more than just a stereotype career woman, beauty queen, authoritarian or housewife.

The four artists, also the masterminds behind ProDanceLeeds, a project funded by the Arts Council England, providing affordable classes for professional dancers in and around Leeds, are making their mark for presenting feminist comedy dance at its very best.

Following Resolution! 2016 performances, Sarah Crompton, freelance writer and former Telegraph Arts Editor in Chief and Dance Critic, said: "This really is too much is sharply funny about the way in which women are pigeon-holed into different roles...everything is performed with striking discipline and skill."

Gracefool Collective's Rebecca Holmberg, said: "Following the response to This really is too much at Resolution, we can't wait to return to London and perform the work in the intimate setting of Blue Elephant Theatre. This opportunity would not have been possible without the generous support of Arts Council England, Spin Arts, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Yorkshire Dance, The Civic Barnsley, Activate Performing Arts and Charlotte Vincent and Gillie Kleiman for their invaluable mentoring."

For This really is too much: costume advice is by Kelli Des Jarlais; sound by Florence Glen; lighting design by Luke Haywood; original writing by Gracefool Collective with extracts from Hidden: A Gender (in Gender Outlaw) by Kate Bornstein.

Rod Dixon, Artistic Director of Red Ladder Theatre, said: "Gracefool are a company to watch". Red Ladder will present an abridged version of This really is too much as part of a double-bill in 2017.

Fri 11 & Sat 12 Nov 2016 at 8pm (please note: National press night is Fri 11 Nov; There will be a post-show talk on Sat 12 Nov)

Blue Elephant Theatre, 59a Bethwin Road, LONDON, SE5 0XT

Tickets: 020 7701 0100 // www.blueelephanttheatre.co.uk/whatson or via Ticketwebhttp://www.ticketweb.co.uk/search/?keyword=THIS+REALLY+IS+TOO+MUCH

or by calling their 24 hour line on 08444 77 1000. Using Ticketweb incurs a 10% booking charge.

Fri 26 May 2017 (performance time to be confirmed)

Yorkshire Dance, St Peter's Square, LEEDS, LS9 8AH

www.yorkshiredance.com/ (on sale date tbc)

Photo credit: Gracefool Collective's Rebecca Holmberg in This really is too much - photo by David Lindsay edited by Oli Bentley at Split

Gracefool Collective is a four woman strong company of dance makers. Their unique concoction of sharp humour and irreverent physicality is interlaced with an intellectual rigour that challenges audiences and breaks new ground. This is comedy dance at its very best.

Since forming in May 2013 they have twice been shortlisted for the Vantage Art Prize. Previous commissions have included Arrivals and Departures festival (curated by Northern School of Contemporary Dance and Yorkshire Dance), Furnace (West Yorkshire Playhouse) and Northern Connections (NSCD). They are regularly invited to create and perform work in a wide range of venues and festivals across the UK such as The Roundhouse (London), Bridport Arts Centre (Dorset), West Yorkshire Playhouse (Leeds), The Place (London) and Contact Theatre (Manchester).

Gracefool were the 2014/15 beneficiaries of CATAPULT - a year long professional development programme delivered by NSCD, Spin Arts and Yorkshire Dance, awarded each year to the most exceptional emerging dance maker(s) in the North. This included bespoke workshops from Tilted Productions and Rod Dixon, and mentoring from Charlotte Vincent.

Gracefool have been identified as a 'company to watch' and was invited to present a scratch of This really is too much, at the Pavilion Dance South West Small Spaces and Rural Places Summit following a recommendation by The Place, London after their performance at Resolution! 2016. In 2015, the company were shortlisted for the Shift and Share project to develop a new small scale work for strategic touring in the South West.

Gracefool are currently the 2016 Barnsley Civic CARP artists (Civic Artistic Residency Programme). CARP is a flexible programme aiming to support artists in the process of creating work, developing and experimenting with new ideas in a creative and supportive arts environment.

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