REVIEW: INTO THE LIGHT @ THE PLACE

🎭 Into the Light

📍 The Place, 17 Duke's Road, London, WC1H 9PY

🗓 Friday 10th April 2026

⭐️ 5 Stars

HYPNOTIC, HAUNTING, AND HIGH-VOLTAGE

My goodness, PCK Dance has done it again. I first fell down the rabbit hole with this company last year when I caught IMAGO at the Theatre Royal Plymouth. It was so staggering it bagged a prestigious spot in my 2025 Review of the Year. Since then I've been utterly hooked.

I was lucky enough to witness the world premiere of their piece POSTSCRIPT at the London Coliseum for the Ballet Icons Gala earlier this year which was another phenomenal piece, so when the invite arrived to review their latest double bill, INTO THE LIGHT, I practically teleported to the theatre.

It's no secret that I'm a total fanboy for James Pett and Travis Clausen-Knight. As both choreographers and performers, they possess a specific brand of magic - a style that is impossibly sharp and precise, yet retains a loose, liquid fluidity that completely captivates me every single time they step into the spotlight,

The evening kicked off with VESSEL, where James and Travis are joined by the brilliant Isabelle Evans. Together, they delve into a visceral cycle of emergence, resistance, and surrender. Watching the trio swim through these unknown waters as their minds and bodies become distorted by the pace of the modern world, was profoundly moving.

The lighting design here is masterful. By intentionally obscuring the performers' faces, the production forces your entire universe to become the movement itself. You aren't watching characters here, you're watching raw energy. The visual result is like witnessing living constellations shifting across a pitch-black night sky - distant, beautiful, and hauntingly unreachable.

As the piece sailed towards its conclusion and the music hit its crescendo, every aspect of the production aligned in complete perfection, giving me chills through my entire body.

Then came IN THE ABSENCE, and quite frankly, it is one of the most exquisite things I have ever seen on a stage. This piece tackles the heavy weight of letting go and that terrifying uncertainty of what comes next. The stage floor is transformed into a vast, mirrored surface that the dancers move across, shifting and disheveling the material as they go. It's a gut-punch of a visual metaphor for the human mind in constant flux, processing the debris of the past.

There was something almost autumnal about the aesthetic. The floor texture put me in mind of fallen leaves - as they move around it reminds us that once the foundations of our lives have been shifted, they can never truly return to what they once were. The shifting nature of the choreography acts as a literal representation on how our baggage shapes our path forward.

James and Travis are mesmerising as their bodies move in such a magical way that is almost hypnotic. My only complaint about this piece, and I'm being completely selfish here, is that I wanted it to be twice as long!

Tying the whole atmosphere together was composer Sean Pett, who performed the score live on stage. There is something so special about seeing the creator do his thing in the thick of it. He became an active participant in the storytelling, adding an extra layer of "wow" and an organic texture to an already electric night.

It was notable to me just how still every person in the audience was. I've never been in the presence of an audience who were universally so completely focused on the unfolding beauty on the stage. This is testament to just how compelling the performances were.

I'm genuinely struggling to find the adjectives to do this justice. I left the theatre enchanted, with my belief firmly solidified. PCK Dance is easily one of the most exciting, forward-thinking companies working in the UK today.

Five stars genuinely doesn't feel like enough for this masterclass in contemporary movement.

To learn more about PCK Dance and their work, click here to head to their website.

Neill Kovacic-Clarke

All views are my own and I pride myself on being honest, fair and free from influence. Theatre is subjective and it is important to remember that all views expressed are just those of one reviewer.  

My ticket for this performance of Into the Light was gifted by PCK Dance who invited me to watch the show in exchange for my honest review. The fact that my ticket was gifted played no part in the content of my review or the star rating given. 

CREATIVES:

Choreography: James Pett; Travis Clausen-Knight

Composer/Musician: Sean Pett

Visual Design: Travis Clausen-Knight

Vessel Performers: Isabelle Evans; James Pett; Travis Clausen-Knight

In the Absence Performers: James Pett; Travis Clausen-Knight

RUNNING TIME (approx):

1 hour 15 minutes, including interval

AGE RECOMMENDATION:

11 +

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