Review: BalletBoyz – Still Pointless, Theatre Royal Brighton
25th June 2026
Marking 25 years since Michael Nunn and William Trevitt launched BalletBoyz with their debut production Pointless, Still Pointless is a thoughtful reflection on a company that has consistently challenged and pushed expectations of contemporary dance.
Rather than presenting a straightforward chronology, the production blends live performance with archive film and backstage conversations, creating what BalletBoyz describe as a ‘live dance documentary’. It is an affectionate look backwards while remaining firmly focused on where contemporary dance might go next.
The programme includes work by leading choreographers including Christopher Wheeldon, Maxine Doyle, Liam Scarlett, Xie Xin and Javier de Frutos, alongside music by composers Cassie Kinoshi, Keaton Henson, Max Richter and Richard English. There is an accompanying podcast Still Pointless: The Podcast, featuring conversations with both Artistic Directors, renowned choreographers and world-class dancers of Still Pointless: BalletBoyz at 25, exploring the making of the show, dance, choreography, and the creative processes involved.
The show begins with humorous amplified backstage chat from the two progenitors of Balletboyz, almost as if the audience is accidentally hearing a private discussion about who will say what. This self-deprecating humour is a lively way to introduce this show. As the curtains open, a screen descends and a short film about their first performance at London’s Camden Roundhouse, establishing the personal journey behind the company and its’ founders, and their nerves at embarking on a new venture. Over the following 25 years, BalletBoyz have danced, created, choreographed and collaborated with countless artists across the world.
This then segued into a performance of Motor Cortex, a brand-new piece by company dancer Seirian Griffiths who trained at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, which received a loud round of applause from this packed house. Griffiths calls himself a movement artist, musician, and choreographer. This has something almost militaristic about it. The black utilitarian costumes and stark lighting and bare walls, with different dancers appearing throughout a shutter effect to the lighting. It reminded me somewhat of 1930s fascist black shirts in appearance, but I’m not sure if this was intended. It was a striking start to this evening of contemporary dance. Whether intentional or not, the visual ambiguity gives the work an unsettling power that makes for a memorable opening.
The mood shifts with Ripple, choreographed by Chinese choreographer Xie Xin. Inspired by the movement of water, it provides a beautiful contrast to the rigidity of the previous work. Jiang Shaofeng’s score moves effortlessly between traditional Chinese instrumentation, electronic textures and pulsating rhythms, while the dancers alternate between metronomic precision and soft, flowing gestures that seem to ripple organically through the ensemble. The result is hypnotic rather than dramatic, inviting the audience to notice the subtle changes in rhythm and momentum rather than searching for narrative.
One of the strengths of Still Pointless is its refusal to settle into a single style. Across the evening, BalletBoyz demonstrate why they have remained at the forefront of contemporary dance for a quarter of a century. The excerpts span intimate duets, athletic ensemble work and emotionally charged storytelling, revealing the company’s willingness to collaborate with choreographers who each bring a distinct artistic language.
Also in the first half are Critical Mass – Russell Maliphant’s piece, a titan who has been involved with Balletboyz since that first performance at London’s Roundhouse, which established weight and sculptural movement and later, Fallen – Another highly kinetic and tense piece by Russell Maliphant.
The interstitial film sequences threaded throughout the performance add welcome context without interrupting the pace, and as one of the founders wryly narrates, have been a useful way to mask a costume change over the years.
Next up was Young Men, an excerpt from a specially commissioned feature-length dance film for the BBC to mark the centenary of World War 1. A group of young men brought together by the brutality of war struggle to maintain their humanity in an unending cycle of combat and death. Based on the hugely successful stage production of the same name that premiered at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, in 2015, it is choreographed by Ivan Perez with a commissioned score by composer Keaton Henson. This is an incredibly athletic piece, which at the same time conveys such emotion and loss in these vulnerable, broken men.
This reveals not only the evolution of BalletBoyz but also the openness and curiosity that have characterised the company since its inception. Rather than celebrating success for its own sake, the retrospective acknowledges experimentation, risk-taking and occasional uncertainty as essential parts of the creative process.
The second half passes in a riot of colour, movement and style. US by choreographer Christopher Wheeldon with music by composer Keaton Henson is a moving duet exploring a relationship and its emotional and physical dynamics. This was a powerful piece, and really unpicked a different approach to the rigid constraints of masculinity, yet at the same time, strong, restrained and expressive.
A performance of Bradley 4:18 – a female choreographer, Maxine Doyle’s piece that brings sharp, stylised character work to a cinematic jazz score with comedic moments and her ‘conversation’ about how an older woman and mother engages with and sees a group of men. This was zany, life-enhancing and playful in both its movement and the dancers’ attire.
The costumes in this anniversary show, Still Pointless, were designed by Katherine Watt. Across the evening, the wardrobe features tailored suits for dramatic pieces and rehearsal attire for the finale, including a great T-shirt on one dancer – Real Men Wear Tights.
The final piece of the evening, Fiction, was choreographed by celebrated Spanish -Argentinian Javier de Frutos – choreographer, director, and former dancer. Originally from Caracas, he has made a career in London, and this is the perfect end to this night of dance, exploring an imaginary scenario where the choreographer dies before the premiere of his latest work, a living eulogy in parts with a comedic tone. Through repetition, rewind and an impressive voiceover by actors (and a real-life couple) Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter.
The show, quite rightly, received a standing ovation for this first night of the tour to a packed auditorium. I’ve often been an Eeyore about contemporary dance, but I, too, joined this ovation. This show was such a rich, bold, inventive and awe-inspiring approach to the human body, and to creativity across disciplines. The team are to be applauded for their creativity, inspiration and hard work.
I left feeling overjoyed at the experience of seeing this production, and recommend that if you can see Balletboyz on tour, celebrating their 25th anniversary, that you do so. Still pointless, but still needed, and still relevant after a quarter of a century. The tour continues into July.
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