Now 18 - The Army / Hearty

NOW is back. It's a little bit different to before, and it's going to be extraordinary.

It's exceptional artists who they think are making the most exciting and radical performance right now. It's 5 weeks of double bills of explosive new work.

These artists are some of the biggest names in performance and at the top of their game. They can’t wait to share these shows with you.

Anton Mirto - The Army
'…to stand on my feet, to challenge my behaviour, to commit, to breathe, to hurt, to fight, to be for or against an idea, to be stronger than I think I am…'

Anton Mirto is a performer and artist who founded the celebrated performance company A2 whose first show miss did it hurt when you fell down from heaven? had major critical acclaim (The Guardian, The Times). Her previous show at The Yard was the sublimely ritualistic earning innocence, which saw performers roll out metres of silver foil to create living sculptures as part of NOW 14.

Her new show The Army speaks of urgency and objection. Through a visceral language of resilience and dysfuctionality, it sees a woman march against apathy, for healing, purpose and power.

Emma Frankland - Hearty
HRT is Hormone Replacement Therapy. A controversial bio-technology of powerful drugs that are responsible for changing the female body.

Emma Frankland returns to The Yard to follow the sell-out Rituals For Change at NOW 16 ('tender, brave and brilliant' WhatsOnStage) with an exploration of HRT and its history. She explores attitudes to menopause alongside the liberation of her own body as a transgender woman. It’s messy, it’s intense and it’s politically-charged.

Inspired by conversations with women around the world, Hearty celebrates growth, ageing, transformation.