Tianzhuo Chen: TRANCE
A 12-hour theatre-rave odyssey, featuring dance, music and visual art, from leading Chinese artist Tianzhuo Chen and his Asian Dope Boys collective.
Tianzhuo Chen uses theatre as a live medium in a serious search for meaning and spirituality. In the course of the performance’s six chapters, a web of narratives evolves as the audience moves freely through sequences of images, tableaux, situations, scenes and settings.
Featuring all of Chen’s spooky, tentacular, lavish shapes, TRANCE establishes connections between traditional rituals and narratives, and imagined futures of science fiction stories.
Tianzhuo Chen is one of the most exciting representatives of the young Chinese art scene, and just as much a cross-border commuter between East and West as between the arts. In his work there is always a mutual view of the other culture and its supposed and projected exoticism.
TRANCE is a production of partner in crime and Kampnagel in co-production with Komische Oper Berlin/Schall&Rausch and Dark Mofo. Supported by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes.
Need to know
Strobe lighting and loud music are used in this performance.
Drop in for some or all of this long-durational experience.
There are three releases of ticket prices for this event: book as early as you can to ensure the best choice of tickets.
Artistic director, stage design, videos, director: Tianzhuo Chen
Concept: Tianzhuo Chen, Petra Poelzl, Johannes Maile
Dramaturgy, research: Petra Poelzl
Performers and live music: Ylva Falk, Ndoho Ange, Gabber Modus Operandi (GMO), Siko Setyanto, OMI, Lavinia Vago, Léa Djyl, Felix-Florian Tödtloff, City, KIM KHAN, Dis Fig
Visuals: Tianzhuo Chen, Guang Yang, Kim Laughton, Guo Fengyi
Costumes: Tianzhuo Chen, Chenting Yu
Text: Yiou Peng
Lighting: Akihiko Tanida
Sound design: Martin Ortiz
Assistant production and stage management: Diane Esnault
Production management: partner in crime
Watch more
Image gallery
For your visit
This event is held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall Southbank Centre
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is open from 90 minutes before events start until they finish. It’s closed at all other times.
Plan your visit
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is home to both our second-largest auditorium and the Purcell Room.
Getting here
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues. More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.
We’re cash-free
Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.
Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Food & drink
From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.