Message In A Bottle

SYNOPSIS
By dramaturg  Lolita Chakrabarti OBE

We live in a world where one person is forcibly displaced every two seconds as a result of conflict or persecution. In 2022 statistics show that over 100 million people around the globe had been forced from their homes. More than thirty-two million of those people are refugees, and half of them are under eighteen years old. We are confronted by stories of displacement every day - in newspapers, on television and on our streets. We regularly hear about migrants fleeing oppressive regimes, but the focus is often on the catastrophic political in-fighting and violence and we lose sight of the people affected.

Message In A Bottle is an imagined story about one family. In a village in a country far away, the community live well and support each other. But when civil war breaks out this idyll of existence is devastated as the community is broken and homes destroyed. We follow the fortunes of a father, mother and their three teenage children – Leto, Mati and Tana – who face this brutal reality together. They are confronted with impossible choices in order to survive. They must leave their homeland and undertake a perilous journey to safer shores. Along the way they will be separated from each other and have to persevere alone. Inspired by the passionate, evocative and iconic music of Sting - Message In A Bottle is a universal story of loss, fear, survival, hope and love.

Good evening, everyone,

We’re delighted to welcome you to this breathtaking celebration of dance, music and hip hop, inspired by the iconic hits of legendary music artist Sting.

Much more than just a dance performance, Message In A Bottle is a journey into the unexpected. With 14 performers from her company ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company, British choreographer Kate Prince enlists Sting’s songs to craft a story inspired by the plight of migrants: the story of a father, a mother and their three teenage children who embark on a perilous journey to escape civil war. A unique marriage of dance and music that pushes the boundaries of the choreographic experience and delivers an evening as intoxicating as it is exhilarating.

This production is on a North American tour, with stops in two major Canadian cities: Montréal and Toronto. For our audiences, Danse Danse is committed to being an essential destination for the performing arts and for large-scale artistic tours such as this one. We’re privileged to be among the presenters of this work, and we look forward to welcoming all these talented artists to our stage in the same week that we unveil our 2024/2025 season.

And now it’s time for some dance, some music and a little nostalgia.

Enjoy the show!

Pierre Des Marais— Artistic and Executive Director

Territorial Acknowledgement

Danse Danse acknowledges that we are gathered on the traditional and unceded territory of the Kanien’keha:ka Nation. We honour the continued presence of Indigenous peoples on the Tiohtiá:ke (Montreal) territory, which has long served as a meeting place for exchanges between nations. With respect for the links to the past, present and future, we thank the Indigenous peoples for reminding us of the importance of living in harmony with ourselves, with each other and with nature, and we are grateful for the opportunity to present works of living art at Tiohtiá:ke.

Everything I create starts on the page, but normally it’s words I have written myself. It was a different experience working with someone else’s poetry. The material existed and was so inspiring. I was spoilt for choice. I had already bought a book about Sting’s lyrics and studied each song on the page, dissecting the poetry and trying to understand these songs that were so familiar to me, on a deeper level.

This piece was the first time I had ever thought about creating an entire show around one artist’s work. Sting was a musical idol of mine from a young age. I think the first concert I went to, somewhere in the late 80s, was watching Sting at Wembley. His music and lyrics, particularly his albums with The Police, have in many ways been the soundtrack to my life, including Walking On The Moon being a song at my wedding!

After an initial pitch of the bare bones of an idea to Alistair Spalding, the Co-CEO of Sadler’s Wells, I found myself in a meeting with Eliza Lumley (the Head of Theatre at Universal UK) and Sting himself, talking through my ideas. It was a somewhat surreal moment in my life, and I was really very nervous to be in a room with someone I was a massive fan of.

Sting was lovely and listened to my idea. He was very open and from that meeting, we got his permission to do a workshop to further explore the concept.

Kate Prince — Choreographer

Company of dancers Oliver Andrews, Lindon Barr, Deavion Brown, David Cottle, Harrison Dowzell, Nestor Garcia Gonzalez, Natasha Gooden, Lizzie Gough, Megan Ingram, Ajani Johnson Goffe, Daniella May, Dylan Mayoral, Serena McCall, Lukas McFarlane, Nethra Menon, Robbie Ordona, Lara Renaud, Hannah Sandilands, Jessey Stol, Steven Thompson, Gavin Vincent, Malachi Welsh.

Creative team
Director & Choreographer Kate Prince
Music & Lyrics Sting
Music Supervisor & New Arrangements Alex Lacamoire
Music Producer & Arranger Martin Terefe
Music Co-Producer & Mixer Oskar Winberg
Set Designer Ben Stones
Video Designer Andrzej Goulding
Costume Designer Anna Fleischle
Lighting Designer Natasha Chivers
Sound Designer David McEwan
Dramaturge Lolita Chakrabarti OBE
Associate Choreographer Lukas McFarlane
Music Associate & Additional Arrangements D.J. Walde
Assistant Choreographers Tommy Franzen, Lizzie Gough

Remount production team
Resident Director/Choreographer Lizzie Gough
Dance Captains Lindon Barr, Hannah Sandilands
Wardrobe Supervisor Miwa Mitsuhashi, Sabia Smith
Hair Stylist Tevae Humphreys, Bethan Owens

Technical team
Company Stage Manager Marius Arnold-Clarke
Deputy Stage Manager Kayleigh Atkinson
Touring Production Manager Adam Smith
Touring Production Electrician/Relighter Joe Pilling
Head of Sound Simon Lambert
Head of Video Marc Lavallee
Head of Wardrobe Joanna Hunnisett
Deputy Head of Wardrobe Heather Cohen
Deputy Head of Lighting Alfie Sissons
Technical Swing Mim Evison
Wardrobe Assistant Firdest Karaca
Touring Physiotherapist Adam Lawrenson
Production Lighting Equipment supplied by White Light Ltd.

Musicians (new arrangements)
Vocals Sting
Drums Kristoffer Sonne
Electric Guitars Staffan Astner
Bass, Guitars & Keys Martin Terefe
Piano, Keys & Guitar Alex Lacamoire
Guitar, Keys, Backing Vocals & Programming Oskar Winberg

Guest Vocalists
Lead Vocals (Fields Of Gold, Invisible Sun)
& If You Love Somebody Set Them Free) Beverley Knight
Lead Vocals (The Bed’s Too Big Without You) Lynval Golding
Lead Vocals (Don’t Stand So Close To Me) Claudia Georgette
Vocals (Inshallah & They Dance Alone) Shaneeka Simon
Vocals (Inshallah & Invisible Sun) Christella Litras

Additional Musicians
Bass John Garrison
Piano & Keys Nikolaj Tor
Percussion Daniel Freedman
Programming D.J. Walde
Drum Programming Noah Terefe

Choir
Glen Scott (choir leader), Christella Litras, Shaneeka Simon, Jermaine (Jaz)
Ellington, Chérie Johnson, Dylan Turner, Ellena Vincent, Cleveland Watkiss, Coretta Scott, Jack
Vasiliou, Shean Williams, Denise Pearson, Laura Vasiliou

String Quartet
Violin Patrick Savage
Violin Shelley Britton
Viola Emma Owens
Cello Chris Fish

Horns
Saxophone Carlos Sosa
Trombone Raul Vallejo
Trumpet Fernando Castillo

Original creation production team
Music Assistant to Alex Lacamoire & Additional Arrangements Isaac Hayward
New arrangements recorded at Kensaltown Studios & Eastcote Studios, London
Sting’s vocals produced by Martin Kierszenbaum, Martin Terefe

Recording Engineers Oskar Winberg, George Murphy
Assistant Engineer & Additional Engineering Sophie Ellis
Additional Assistant Engineers Clem Cherry, Jake Sewell & Max Margolis
Executive Assistant to Martin Terefe Julie Bateman
Financial & Back-Office Annie Benson
Music Copywork Stephanie Leah Evans
Assistant Stage Designer Rachel Wingate
Associate Lighting Designer Andy Purves
Associate Costume Designer Rose Montgomery
Props Supervisor Rosheen McNamee
Prop Maker Emma Hughes
Set Construction MDM
Props After Effects Animator Raphael Pimlott
3D Modeller Jay Wood
Video Programmer Jack Jewell
Video Production Engineer Dan Trenchard
Video Engineer Mike Samuel
Lighting Programmer Laura Howells
Production Electricians Doug Thomas-Currie, Joe Kirk
Rehearsal Sound Engineer Lizzie Arnold
Soundscape Consultant Andy Hockley (d&b audiotechnik UK)
Costume Supervisor Ilona Karas
Assistant Costume Supervisor Sabia Smith
Costume Intern Alisa Neu
Costume Makers Anna Barcock, Alice Brown, Roxy Cressy, Philip Engleheart, Pat Farmer,
Rae Hildbrand, Chrissy Maddison, Pauline Cheney Parker, Elaine Pearson, Lucie Shilton, Jane
Temple
Costume (Dyeing & Break-Down) Gabrielle Firth, Nicola Killeen.

PRODUCERS

For Sadler’s Wells
Artistic Director & Chief Executive Alistair Spalding CBE
Executive Producer Suzanne Walker
Head of Producing & Touring Bia Oliveira
Producer Hannah Gibbs
Assistant Producer Molly Jones
Head of Production Adam Carrée
Marketing Manager Sam McAuley, Jordan Archer
Marketing & Communications Coordinator Steven Lou
Head of Media & Communications Caroline Ansdell
Media Officer Laura Neil
Producing & Touring Trainee Izzy Billington

For Universal Music UK
Executive Producer Eliza Lumley

For ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company
Founder & Artistic Director Kate Prince
Associate Artistic Director Dannielle ‘Rhimes’ Lecointe
Executive Directors Flo Buckeridge & Chantal Spiteri
Executive Producer Sandra Castell Garcia
Producer Annie Taylor-Gooby
General Manager Sophie Cammack
Company Coordinator Jasmine Cox
Agency Manager Shannelle ‘Tali’ Fergus
Marketing & Communications Manager Frankie Stansfield

SERVICES
Artwork, Design, Advertising & Trailer AKA
Photography Helen Maybanks, Johan Persson, Uli Weber
Promotional Filming Stefan Demetriou (Globe Productions) & David Lopez-Edwards
Tour Booking (UK & International) Kayte Potter, Fiona Buffham & Rebecca Bose for Great Leap
Tour Booking (North America) Stephen Lindsay for The Road Company
Cherrytree Music Company (Sting’s Management) Martin Kierszenbaum, Nicole VanGiesen, Meghan Johansson
Forge Ahead Media, Inc. (Sting PR) Tracy Bufferd
DawBell (Sting UK PR) Stu Bell, Dave Palmer
Physiotherapy Production Physio Therapy

US General Management Pemberley Productions
General Manager Tim Smith
General Manager Doreen Sayegh
Associate General Manager Annie Shea Graney
Tour Manager Florent Trioux
US Production Management Advisor What If We Productions
Consulting Producer Ken Greiner

THANK YOU

Neil Adleman, Catherine Airey, Fiona Allan, Wei An Hwa, Kerry Andrews, Molly Andruskevicius, Tommas Arnby, Sacha Arnby-Lumley, Jonathan Badyal, Josh Baker, Nafisa Baba, Tony Barnes, Adam Barker, Robert Bassett, William Booth, Harry Bresslaw, Robia Milliner Brown, Melissa Bravo, Oliver Chapman, Fleur Clark, Katie Collins, Steve Cowton, Karen Dagg, Idney D’Almeida, Alex Doherty, Penny Duncanson, Claire Eason Bassett at English National Ballet Studios, Edwardian Hotels London, Onyemachi Ejimofor, Rachel Fallon, Julia Fawcett, Luke Ferrar, Tony Fletcher, Alex Ford, Cassie Gallagher, Natalie Gardiner, Simon Gillham, Good Chance, Robby Graham, Lucas Rhys Gregory Wildman, Chloe Hadley, Ellie Hartwell, Robin Jenkins, David Joseph, Ian Kagey, Daniel King, Molly Ladbrooke Hutt, Scott Landis, Evisa Limani, Milaim Limani, Tom Malone, Tom March, Justin Masterson, Dina Mousawi, Rose Montgomery, Asa Mohammed, Rutendo Mushaunga, Jemma Newby, Stephen Nowlan, Emma Pascoe at Edwin Shirley, Alex Sarmiento, Portia Oti, Laurence Pinkus, Daniel Phung, Andy Purves, Sophie Robertson, Marc Robinson, Kaycee Rice, Clive Rudd, Ellya Sam, David Sharpe, Chris Sudworth, Elijah Smith, Sammie Squires, Eckhard Thiemann, Florent Trioux, Selina Webb.