HANG IN THERE, BABY!
DANCE THEATRE · 2025
Music and sound design for a dance work by John-William Watson and Sadler’s Wells Theatre
About the work
Hang in There, Baby! is a surreal dance-theatre production created by John-William Watson, exploring our relationship with destiny, fate and decision-making. Set during a New Year's office party, the work gradually transforms the monotony of corporate life into an increasingly absurd, science-fiction-inspired nightmare.
Moving between existential dread and dark comedy, the production combines original choreography, theatrical writing, music and sound design. The score, written for violin, cello and piano alongside electronic sound design, creates a shifting musical landscape as the familiar world of the office begins to unravel.
Originally commissioned by Sadler's Wells in 2022, the production subsequently toured the United Kingdom in 2023 and was restaged with a new cast by National Dance Company Wales in 2025.
ORIGINAL COMPOSITION & SOUND DESIGN
CHOREOGRAPHY
INSTRUMENTATION
SET & COSTUME DESIGN
LIGHTING DESIGN
VOICE ACTOR
PERFORMERS
Adam Vincent Clarke
John-William Watson
Piano trio, voices, brass band, sound design.
Joshua Cartmell (MELSHstudio)
Ryan Joseph Stafford
Beth Emmerson
Beth Emmerson, Nya Bardouille, Magdalena Anna Górnikiewicz and Lara Peres Rocha
PREMIERE
RESTAGING
COMMISSIONED BY
October 2022, Sadler's Wells, London
United Kingdom, 2023 & National Dance Company Wales, 2025
Sadler's Wells, London
Press
“Wonderfully bizarre.”
— The Stage, 2022