(Ballet) / John Grant / Ed Watson

Christopher Isherwood’s vital portrait of queer love and loss is reimagined as a contemporary ballet by Jonathan Watkins, with new music and live performance from celebrated singer-songwriter John Grant and composer Jasmin Kent Rodgman

George is grieving after the sudden death of his long-term partner Jim. He wonders if life is still worth living and spends his day looking for ways to connect with the people around him. But there is another George: one who loves life. Can he reconcile these two parts of himself? Will a chance encounter remind him of joy?

Award-winning director and choreographer Jonathan Watkins transforms Christopher Isherwood’s masterpiece into an original contemporary ballet in collaboration with singer-songwriter John Grant and composer Jasmin Kent Rodgman. Powered by exclusive new songs performed live by John Grant with dance from Royal Ballet dancers and guest artists, A Single Man is a healing meditation on sexuality, grief and midlife.

Weaving together an exhilarating choreographic blend of ballet and contemporary dance from Jonathan Watkins, the creative team also features Oscar-winning costume designer Holly Waddington (Poor Things), award-winning costume designer Eleanor Bull, set designer Chiara Stephenson – known for her work with SZA, Lorde, Florence + the Machine and Björk – as well as lighting designer Simisola Majekodunmi. The original score is brought to life by the innovative classical ensemble, Manchester Collective.

Isherwood’s 1964 novel follows George, a gay, middle-aged professor navigating life in 1960s California. Widely recognised as a pioneering work of twentieth-century fiction, the novel was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film by fashion designer Tom Ford starring Colin Firth.

In this iteration of A Single Man, acclaimed former Royal Ballet Principal Ed Watson expresses the physicality of George’s exterior life while John Grant performs his internal monologue. Throughout the day, George encounters an ensemble of other characters as he remembers his lover Jim: his friend Charley and a young student Kenny.

Telling the story of George inside and out, A Single Man explores what it means to be human.