Russell T Davies’ hit TV series ‘It’s a Sin’ to be made into a ‘deep’ dance show | Dance

It’s a Sin, the award-winning television series about friendship during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, will be adapted for the stage as a dance show. The new production is being developed by Rambert who had a huge hit in 2022 with the prequel to the Peaky Blinders TV series.

It’s a Sin creator Russell T Davies is executive producer of the new production, which will be conceived and directed by Rambert’s artistic director, Benoît Swann-Bouvre. “Storytelling is at the heart of Rambert’s mission,” Boever said Thursday. “Collaborating with Russell – one of the most powerful storytellers of our time – is so exciting. Together, we explore how dance and choreography can carry urgent emotional narratives in a profound way.”

The Pet Shop Boys, whose 1987 single gave the series its title, also serve as executive producers on the show. They said that the series “convincingly presented the reality and tragedy of the AIDS crisis to a large audience” and that they were “proud to participate in interpreting this poignant and important story in a different medium.” The pop duo’s regular collaborators, Luke Halls Studio, will provide set and video design for a production that blends archival material with contemporary dance. The music will be composed by Romain Gian-Arthur, part of Janelle Monáe’s Wondaland Arts Society, and will evoke “the magic, challenge and emotional power of queer life in the ’80s,” according to a press release.

The show is being co-produced with Factory International and will open at its £240m venue, Aviva Studios in Manchester, at a date yet to be announced. He is then set to tour. “It’s a Sin was a special show for me, and it’s the honor of my life to have Rambert turn the show into something new and exciting,” Davies said.

The writer had previously expressed his uncertainty about adapting the Channel 4 series for the stage. In 2024, three years after it was first broadcast, he told Radio Times that he was encouraged to turn it into a musical. “I just wanted to move forward,” he said. “I didn’t want to flounder. It was very strange, with its success – it was very difficult to celebrate, because it was this huge success but at the same time a real tragic story… I didn’t want to stay there. I thought, ‘I’ve done it’, and I felt like I was treading water or trying to replicate the success or almost tapping into something very dark.” He admitted at the time that he “may return to her one day.”

The television series follows a group of young gay men who move to London in 1981 and find freedom and friendship, but are faced with the horror of the HIV/AIDS crisis unfolding during the decade. It won Best New Drama at the 2021 National Television Awards and several other awards.

Rambert, founded as a ballet company in London by Polish immigrant Marie Rambert, celebrates its centenary this year. It’s a Sin is co-produced by the Wales Millennium Center in Cardiff, Metropolitan Theaters in Edinburgh, City Theater in Luxembourg, and Sadler’s Wells in London. In 2011, Sadler’s Wells presented the dance show “The Most Wonderful Thing” which included an original score by the Pet Shop Boys.

In recent years, dance companies have had great success in reaching new audiences by adapting television series and films. Aviva Studios opened in 2023 with Free Your Mind, a production based on The Matrix with choreography from Kenrick “H20” Sandy. This month Northern Ballet unveiled its touring version of Gentleman Jack, inspired by Sally Wainwright’s hit TV series about 19th-century lesbian diarist Anne Lister.