Mark Bruce Company, Return to Heaven, Wilton's Music Hall

Over the past few years Mark Bruce has created a series of powerful and unforgettable works of dance theatre, combining small groups of versatile dancers with rollercoaster storytelling, strong music and daring designs.

He goes for challenging subjects: Dracula, where ‘Bruce and his extraordinarily gifted dancers navigate Bram Stoker’s hellish narrative with near-hallucinatory dexterity,’ in the words of The Guardian; Macbeth, the choreography of which was described by The Observer as ‘tensely sprung, at once airily proprietorial and neurotically convoluted;’ The Odyssey, praised by The Stage for its ‘astonishing power and invention.’

Now Mark Bruce Company present Return to Heaven, a characteristically surreal journey that moves forward from their 2012 work Made in Heaven.

The plot draws on the mythology of ancient Egypt: a couple of intrepid modern-day explorers, danced by Dane Hurst, formerly of Rambert, and Mark Bruce Company stalwart Eleanor Duval, set off on a journey into the darkness of a jungle, in search of something they can’t quite define – just a feeling.

The tale is told in flashback; in Mark Bruce’s own words, ‘like music, dance theatre can transcend narrative; it doesn’t need to be followed…it can be “felt” and is open to interpretation.’

Return to Heaven juxtaposes contemporary metaphors and ancient mythology and ritual in a journey where the two explorers end up being chased by a nightmarish combination of scientists and supernatural forces determined to coerce them to participate in the resurrection of an ancient deity.

They are, according to Mark Bruce, being forced to face their own internal demons, with which they must be reconciled in order to rediscover hope and redemption.

If it sounds a little too dense and intricate, don’t be put off. On past experience, we can guarantee a thrilling immersive ride with unforgettable visual imagery.

Return to Heaven is set to a score that includes works by Krzysztof Penderecki, Mark Lanegan and Harry Belafonte, among others.

Lighting is by the prolific designer Guy Hoare with sets by Phil Eddolls and costume design by Dorothee Brodrück.