The Joyce Theater Foundation (Linda Shelton, Executive Director) celebrates the opening of its Fall ‘22/Winter’23 season with not only a Joyce debut, but the U.S. dance theater debut of award-winning multihyphenate artist Alan Cumming in Burn. Created by Cumming and Olivier-winning choreographer Steven Hoggett, the solo piece that explores the life and legacy of Scottish poet Robert Burns will play The Joyce Theater from September 20-25. Tickets, ranging in price from $10-$65, can be purchased at https://www.joyce.org, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at West 19th Street. For more information and to read about The Joyce Theater’s detailed health and safety protocols, including required face-coverings and proof of vaccination policies, please visit https://joyce.org.

“Having just seen the world premiere of Burn in Scotland, I’m overjoyed to present its U.S. premiere at The Joyce next month,” said Linda Shelton, Executive Director of The Joyce Theater. “Alan is an unparalleled artist, one whom I have admired for years, and there is no better way to open our next season than with this beautiful new work, a stunning hybrid of theater and dance created by him and the equally brilliant Steven Hoggett.”

A host of world-renowned artists and organizations will have a hand in launching The Joyce Theater’s upcoming Fall/Winter season with the U.S. premiere of a striking solo piece, led by the indomitable Tony and Olivier Award-winner Alan Cumming in his dance theater debut. A co-production with National Theatre of Scotland, Edinburgh International Festival, and The Joyce Theater through its Joyce Theater Productions program, Burn mines the depths of letters from Scotland’s national bard Robert Burns for a raw depiction of his rarely-explored inner life. Cumming and co-creator Steven Hoggett embrace yet go beyond the literary icon’s poetry to reveal the poverty, struggle, and success that shaped his life. Through his wealth of artistic expression and deep connection to Scottish culture, Alan Cumming resurrects Burns on stage as only he can. Featuring the music of acclaimed contemporary musician and composer Anna Meredith, Cumming says that Burn “tells us the absolute truth of who we are as Scots…[and] is my attempt at trying to tell more of his story using my whole body.”

Burn is co-choreographed by Steven Hoggett and Vicki Manderson. Set design is by Ana Inés Jabares Pitz; costume design by Katrina Lindsay; lighting design by Tim Lutkin; video design by Andrzej Goulding; sound design by Matt Padden; and illusion design by Kevin Quantum. Shilpa T-Hyland serves as Associate Director.

*     *     *

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Alan Cumming is beyond eclectic. His most recent projects include lip-synching the protagonist in a documentary, directing a podcast series about a sperm bank heist, playing a gangster opposite Liam Neeson in a Neil Jordan film, curating a cabaret festival in Australia, and recording a duet with a Gaelic rapper. Not surprisingly, Time called him one of the three most fun people in show business (the others were Cher and Stanley Tucci!). Thirty years ago, his Hamlet stormed the West End. A quarter of a century ago, he was a sensation as Cabaret’s Master of Ceremonies in a production that forever changed the Broadway landscape. A decade ago, his visceral, virtually one-man Macbeth was a stunning, transatlantic coup de theatre. His screen work ranged from art house to blockbuster, cult to mainstream, including Mr. Floop in Spy Kids, Eli on “The Good Wife,” Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Boris in Goldeneye, King James on “Doctor Who,” Sandy Frink in Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Mayor Menlove on “Schmigadoon!” and himself on “Broad City.” He is the author of six books, including a New York Times #1 bestselling memoir, performs in concert regularly around the world, and co-owns his own eponymous cabaret bar, Club Cumming, a home for all ages, genders, colors, sexualities—where kindness is all and anything could happen. He is a Tony and Olivier Award-winning actor, five-time Emmy nominee, Scottish BAFTA winner, British Comedy Award winner, Independent Spirit Award-winning producer, National Board of Review-winning director, Grammy and Golden Globe nominee, an Officer of the British Empire, and winner of over 40 awards for his humanitarianism.

Steven Hoggett is an internationally renowned award-winning choreographer and movement director who previously worked with Alan Cumming and the National Theatre of Scotland on The Bacchae. Other productions with National Theatre of Scotland include Black Watch (Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer), Let The Right One In (Royal Court, West End, St Ann’s NYC) and Beautiful Burnout. Recent shows include The Ocean at the End of the Lane (National Theatre), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (National Theatre) and Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, which transferred to Broadway in 2018. Hoggett was founder and co-artistic director of Frantic Assembly.  

The Joyce Theater Foundation (“The Joyce,” Executive Director, Linda Shelton), a non-profit organization, has proudly served the dance community for almost four decades. Under the direction of founders Cora Cahan and Eliot Feld, Ballet Tech Foundation acquired and renovated the Elgin Theater in Chelsea. Opening as The Joyce Theater in 1982, it was named in honor of Joyce Mertz, beloved daughter of LuEsther T. Mertz. It was LuEsther’s clear, undaunted vision and abundant generosity that made it imaginable and ultimately possible to build the theater. Ownership was secured by The Joyce in 2015. The theater is one of the only theaters built by dancers for dance and has provided an intimate and elegant home for over 400 U.S.-based and international companies. The Joyce has also expanded its reach beyond its Chelsea home through off-site presentations at venues ranging in scope from Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater, to Brooklyn’s Invisible Dog Art Center, and to outdoor programming in spaces such as Hudson River Park. To further support the creation of new work, The Joyce maintains longstanding commissioning and residency programs. Local students and teachers (K–12th grade) benefit from its school program, and family and adult audiences get closer to dance with access to artists. The Joyce’s annual season of about 48 weeks of dance now includes over 340 performances – both digital and in-person – for audiences in excess of 150,000.

The National Theatre of Scotland is dedicated to playing the great stages, arts centres, village halls, schools and site-specific locations of Scotland, the UK and internationally. As well as creating ground-breaking productions and working with the most talented theater-makers, the National Theatre of Scotland produces significant community engagement projects, innovates digitally, and works constantly to develop new talent. Central to this is finding pioneering ways to reach current and new audiences and to encourage people’s full participation in the Company’s work. With no performance building of its own, the Company works with existing and new venues and companies to create and tour theater of the highest quality. Founded in 2006, the Company, in its short life, has become a globally significant theatrical player, with an extensive repertoire of award-winning work. The National Theatre of Scotland is supported by the Scottish Government. https://nationaltheatrescotland.com.

Edinburgh International Festival is the world’s leading performing arts festival, featuring the finest performers from the worlds of dance, opera, music and theater. Created in 1947 to celebrate the enduring human spirit, the International Festival normally serves as an annual cultural exchange, every August, for an international audience exceeding 400,000 per year. For more information visit https://www.eif.co.uk.

Joyce Theater Productions (JTP) is the in-house producing entity for The Joyce Theater Foundation, Inc., formed to create original work for The Joyce’s stage and for worldwide touring. The initiative provides dance artists who have little or no formal management or infrastructure the means to create productions of the highest standards of excellence. The program also includes the Associate Company model, offering sustained producing, fiscal and/or administrative management to companies that may require short or longer term support. Originally founded in partnership with Sunny Artist Management, Inc. (SAM) in 2014, JTP has since supported projects with Daniil Simkin, Wendy Whelan/Brian Brooks, Arthur Pita/James Whiteside, Maria Kochetkova, Caleb Teicher, Alexei Ratmansky, Molissa Fenley, and L.A. Dance Project, and maintains and ongoing relationship with Cuba’s Malpaso Dance Company.