Rambert brings IT’S A SIN to stage with Russell T Davies and Pet Shop Boys as Executive Producers

Photo credit: Max Cisotti

Rambert, in partnership with Factory International, has announced the early development of It’s A Sin - a major new dance work inspired by the era-defining, award-winning Channel 4 series of the same name.

This bold reimagining sees original series creator Russell T Davies serving as Executive Producer, alongside legendary pop duo Pet Shop Boys and Glyn Fussell. The production will be choreographed and directed by Rambert’s Artistic Director Benoit Swan Pouffer, reigniting his partnership with dramaturg Kaite O’Reilly on the development of a new script for the show.

It’s A Sin will premiere at Aviva Studios in Manchester, in a co-production with Wales Millennium Centre, Capital Theatres (Edinburgh), Sadler’s Wells Theatre and Les Théâtres de la Ville (Luxembourg). Full details, including venue, casting and performance dates, will be announced later this year.

Raw, euphoric and deeply moving, It’s A Sin will be a visceral theatrical experience - a reckoning and a celebration told through fearless movement. Clubs pulse with possibility. Friendships ignite. Fear edges closer. Lives are changed forever.

Expanding the world of the beloved television drama, the production brings together an extraordinary creative team. Shaping the musical landscape, composer and music supervisor Roman GianArthur will compose the music with the support of executive producers Pet Shop Boys to evoke the glamour, defiance and emotional intensity of 1980s queer life. The set and video design will come from Luke Halls Studio, whose work spans global arena tours and major stage productions.

Originally set in London between 1981 and 1991, Davies’ story follows a generation of young gay men and their friends as the HIV/AIDS crisis unfolds around them. It is a story of joy and innocence, of loss and injustice - and of resilience, activism and love in the face of unimaginable change.

Rambert will transform this narrative into an immersive, living experience where contemporary dance, archive and cinematic visuals collide as past and present unfold side by side. Urgent and intimate, it asks vital questions about memory, community and how we choose to live.

Unapologetic. Electrifying. Deeply human. It’s A Sin continues Rambert’s legacy of bringing epic stories to the stage through movement that speaks to now.

On the announcement of It’s A Sin, Benoit Swan Pouffer said: “Storytelling sits at the heart of Rambert’s mission. This is a story we feel compelled to tell right now, and collaborating with Russell - one of the most powerful storytellers of our time — is incredibly exciting. Together we’re exploring how dance and choreography can carry urgent, emotional narratives in a visceral way. I can’t wait to share this with audiences, and there is so much more still to come as the work evolves.”

Russell T Davies said: “It’s A Sin was such a special show for me, and it's one of the greatest honours of my life to have the show transformed by Rambert into something new and exciting.”

Pet Shop Boys commented: “The original TV drama was a landmark series which compellingly presented the reality and tragedy of the Aids crisis to a mass audience. Our song ‘It’s a Sin’ was contemporary with the crisis and we are proud to be involved as this poignant and important story is interpreted in a different medium.”

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