Epic, Glorious, Stupid: Dance For Me In Your Living Room

Since forming in 2013, local Reykjavík performance group Dance For Me, created by British-born Brogan Davison and Icelandic-born Pétur Ármannsson, has been performing across the world, playing shows in Germany, Finland, Italy and Canada, amongst others.

But this November they’re staying much closer to home, showing their new production ‘The Brogan Davison Show’ at the 2017 Everybody’s Spectacular festival in Reykjavík, which starts on November 15. “We’re very excited!” says Brogan. “This will be the fourth time we have shown in the festival, so it holds a special place in our hearts.”

Why go out?

‘The Brogan Davison Show’ is the group’s fourth project. “In our previous work we have explored what putting yourself in a vulnerable position can allow for in a world where toughness and strength are often championed as virtuous traits,” says Brogan. ‘The Brogan Davison Show’, which takes the form of a solo-standup performance, continues this trend. But in a fun twist, Dance For Me will instead perform inside the homes of the audience members, rather than onstage.

“It is epic, glorious and totally stupid.”

“For me, going into a stranger’s home to perform stand-up is a vulnerable act full of risk,” Brogan continues. “I can see everyone I am performing for and it feels very personal rather than the audience being a sea of people lurking in the darkness.”

Cloud of smoke

Brogan, a “self-deprecating, mouthy and psychologically delicate woman” kicks off the show by entering through a cloud of smoke. “It is epic, glorious and totally stupid,” she says. She shares jokes and humorous anecdotes from her life growing up in her working class home in Britain, interspersed with singing and cookery tips, in a performance simultaneously full of love, rage, bravery and stupidity.

“The show has always ended with the audience throwing confetti over me, so maybe that’s an indication that they really love the show,” muses Brogan. “Granted, I provide the confetti and ask them to throw it, but they seem really happy to do so. Who knows, really?”

‘The Brogan Davison Show’ will be performed as part of Everybody’s Spectacular Festival in Reykjavík, which runs from November 15-19th in various spaces. Visit spectacular.is for more information.