About this event
When
Thu 26th Nov 2026
7:00pm
Price
£5 - £12
Duration
1 hour (no interval)
This show intends to affect your nervous system and includes brief loud noises and bright lights.
A post show talk will follow this performance
Book here See Multibuy OffersFabric: Multi-buy offer – Book tickets to see Graces, The Dirty Work & Anatomy of Survival, and save 30% per performance when booking. Or book any 2 of those performances and save 20% per performance when booking. The offer will be automatically applied at checkout and is applicable on standard price seats only.
A woman walks into a cafe. She orders a coffee. The barista doesn’t understand her request. The woman loses her sh*t. Chaos reigns.
This offbeat collaboration between award-winning playwright Vivienne Franzmann and choreographer and psychotherapist Frauke Requardt, brings together 22 very different eyewitness accounts of one everyday altercation to show how our nervous systems are stuck in the Stone Age.
Performed by two dancers, an actor and a drummer (and one bear). Anatomy of Survival is a show for all the nervous systems in the auditorium. Come and feel the rise and fall of yours.
credits
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- Co-Directors: Frauke Requardt & Vivienne Franzmann
- Choreography: Frauke Requardt and performers
- Writer: Vivienne Franzmann
- Performers: Bea Bidault, Kath Duggan and Neil Callaghan
- Composer & Live Musician: Stefano Ancora
- Designer: Hannah Clark Lighting Designer: Lucy Hansom
- Sound Design & Production: Chameleon drums & perc Studio
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Commissioned and co-produced by The Place. Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, and by the Royal Philharmonic Society with funding from the RPS Drummond Lockyer Fund for Dance.
about frauke and viv
Frauke Requardt is a German-born, London-based choreographer. Her choreographic work is characterised by physically challenging choreography, a strong theatricality, dark humour and an overall sense of surrealism. She uses text and live music and a mixture of abstract and emotionally based movement to deliver highly engaging work.
Vivienne Franzmann is an award-winning playwright. She has had work produced nationally and internationally. Her work includes Pests at The Royal Court and The Manchester Royal Exchange, The Witness at The Royal Court, Bodies at The Royal Court, The Snow Queen at Bristol Old Vic and The It for the National Theatre Connections Programme. She has taught playwriting to a wide range of writers including women in prison, care-leavers in London and playwrights in Cuba. She is currently developing work for television and film.
Frauke and Vivienne were paired together in an experimental collaboration between The Royal Court, Encounter Productions and The Place to share their working practice.
This performance is presented by Fabric and Birmingham Hippodrome as part of THIS IS DANCE
THIS IS DANCE is an international season of dance in Birmingham presented in partnership with Fabric, Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Fierce Festival, Midlands Arts Centre and Sampad Arts, bringing exceptional dance from both across the globe and the local community.
