The world premiere of Wilkie Branson’s TOM this weekend at Sadler’s Wells

WILKIE BRANSON IS A SADLER’S WELLS NEW WAVE ASSOCIATE

TOM seeks to chart one man’s struggle with his identity by exploring themes of mental health and personal sacrifice

An innovative production combining choreography with digital animation, TOM receives its World Premiere at the Lilian Baylis Studio from Thursday 15 – Saturday 17 November. Crafted by Sadler’s Wells New Wave Associate and award-winning filmmaker Wilkie Branson, TOM seeks to chart one man’s struggle with his identity by exploring themes of mental health and personal sacrifice.

Cutting edge technologies including animation, projection mapping and surround-sound, are intertwined with the hip hop language of B-boying to create a narrative exploring the mind of the protagonist, played by Branson, to rediscover who he is in this dance for camera installation.

Branson is a Sadler’s Wells New Wave Associate and an interdisciplinary dance artist and film-maker. He is self-taught in both dance and film and is a member of the Sadler’s Wells Summer University. Branson’s work, Varmints, has previously performed at the Lilian Baylis Studio in 2013 and 2015, following a tour.

TOM is set in a hinterland between the civilised world and the wilderness, animated using a process called photogrammetry. Branson has spent several years labouring and self teaching to produce intricately detailed scale models of scenery and objects. He has then photographically scanned the models for photogrammetry and digitised the models to create realistic 3D scenes enhanced with digital VFX. Uniquely, Branson has filmed himself dancing and moving dozens of times over, representing various possible identities, and sketching himself into the animated landscape, accompanied with an original score composed by Benji Bower. Beautifully animated and presented to the audience with three levels of screen depth, TOM is a 3D visual and audio experience that will immerse the audience in the layered world of its protagonist.

Framed through Branson’s personal experiences, the work seeks to question what we shed of ourselves as we journey into adulthood, and whether the abandonment or hiding of these aspects creates a new identity. TOM aims to address what it is to struggle with a false sense of identity, and how we might view this changing sense of self.

The work has a dark narrative that deals with mental health issues and includes scenes of a mildly violent nature which some viewers may find upsetting. Recommended for age 14+. Commissioned and Co-Produced by Sadler’s Wells, performances are at 8pm with a Saturday matinee at 4pm with tickets retailing at £17.

Co-Commissioned by Pavilion Dance South West. Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England with additional support from the Unicorn Theatre, Hive House London, Theatre Bristol, Capture Reality and Keir Moffatt Web Design. Research and development supported by Sadler’s Wells New Wave Associate Programme and Lakeside Arts Centre, Nottingham.