Phoenix Dance Theatre: Inside Giovanni's Room

05 Jun 2025

Liverpool Playhouse Theatre

Phoenix Dance Theatre presents Inside Giovanni’s Room, a full-length dance production inspired by James Baldwin’s ground breaking 1956 novel Giovanni’s Room.

Set in 1950s Paris, Giovanni’s Room tackles themes of love, sexuality, guilt and self-acceptance. Baldwin was known for writing about the African American experience and was warned by his publishers that his exploration of sexuality identity and depiction of same-sex relationships could alienate his audience and potentially end his career. Today the novel is celebrated as one of the most important literary works of the 20th century.

To mark Baldwin’s 100th birthday, choreographer Marcus Jarrell Willis unpacks this thought-provoking novel in a narrative adaptation that examines how its themes are still poignant and relevant today.

Founded over 40 years ago by three young Black British men, Phoenix Dance Theatre’s new production builds on their legacy of pushing cultural boundaries and using dance as a platform to ask questions that get to the very heart of what it is to be human.