Last Dance Saloon
Tango triggers an unlikely romance
This captivating new show stirs thoughts about love, legacy and the future we envision for our grandchildren. Filled with music, dance and laughter, it delivers a deeply moving experience.
Two people, no longer in the first flush of youth, meet at a tango retreat in Buenos Aires. A spark is ignited. Tied to their families in Chile and Devon, they navigate the challenges of a long-distance relationship sustained by tango sessions in Argentina that include unexpected flights of the imagination into the realm of local myth.
Multi Story has spent twenty-four years crafting powerful narratives for intimate spaces, thriving on the close connections fostered in community venues. Their latest production features relatable characters who strive to do their best for themselves, their families and the future. It resonates particularly with the grandparent generation, contemplating their legacy, while also engaging younger audiences in conversations about the world they’re inheriting.
The performance is staged 'in the round' to replicate the atmosphere of a Tango milonga (social dance).
“The culmination of a career-long commitment to contemporary small-scale theatre: warm, engaging, and infused with a deep understanding of the theatre-maker’s craft.”
Mark Wallace, Director, Beaford Arts
“The seamless moving between character interaction, narration and story telling was utterly fascinating. And your weaving of human-driven climate change, with the challenges that most people of middle age and beyond face, and with learning to tango, was a master stroke.”
"Sensitive, funny, moving, poignantly relevant and viscerally relatable."
"I just loved it! It felt like you expressed lots of different threads about what it is to be alive and human at this time of my life, in this age. And you wove those threads into something that for me, expressed a beautiful freedom of the dance of the heart. Thank you both for creating something that could do that... it's very special."
comments and reactions
technical details
- get-in three hours
- performance 75 minutes - no interval
- get-out 60 minutes
- performance area preferably in the round with ideally a performance area six metres in diameter
- lighting in theatres a warm cover. In community venues we need access to a 13 amp socket for the lighting rig and sound system that we carry
- sound self-operated from on stage
- ancillary work we're more than happy to lead post-show discussions and we offer a menu of complementary workshops
- age advisory 14+
Two people, no longer in the first flush of youth, find each other at a tango retreat in Buenos Aires. A spark is lit and their passion smoulders – this was meant to be. But one has work and family ties in South America, the other in North Devon. They settle into the frustrations of a long-distance relationship fuelled by regular tango sessions in Argentina, that include unexpected flights of the imagination. Then one of them weighs the ecological consequences.
A multi story mix of music, song, tango and stories ancient and modern.
"Like a warm hug on a stormy night."
"A tour de force that provokes, entertains and dazzles."
"Sensitive, funny, moving, poignantly relevant and viscerally relatable."
"I just loved it! It felt like you expressed lots of different threads about what it is to be alive and human at this time of my life, in this age. And you wove those threads into something that for me, expressed a beautiful freedom of the dance of the heart. Thank you both for creating something that could do that... it's very special."
marketing pack
YouTube trailer
production shots by Paul Treweeke
rehearsal shots by Roy Riley