Carlos Pons Guerra and DeNada Dance Theatre present Mariposa, a queer tragedy inspired by Puccini’s Madame Butterfly.

Under the flickering neon lights of a distant Caribbean port, a local hustler and a foreign sailor fall fatally in love, and a young man is asked to sacrifice his sex in exchange for love and a better life…

Mariposa is choreographer Carlos Pons Guerra’s queer interpretation of Puccini’s groundbreaking opera Madame Butterfly. An opera-dance drama, it transports Puccini’s orientalist libretto to post-revolutionary Cuba, to a port world of faded showgirls, hopeful hustlers, troubled sailors and divine queer spirits. Enveloped in a tropical storm of repressed desires, the production is a passionate and deeply moving exploration of what we are willing to sacrifice to be loved and accepted.

Carlos Pons Guerra, described by the BBC as the ‘Pedro Almodovar of dance’, is one of the UK’s leading voices in contemporary queer dance. With a truly distinctive style, theatricality and aesthetic, his work explores gender, cultural and sexual identity. It often stems from his personal experience and desire to bring LGBTQ+ narratives to the dance stage, stylishly staged in a way that recalls his Hispanic/Latino cultural heritage. Mariposare, which premiered in 2021, addresses the problematic gendered and colonialist aspects of Madame Butterfly and asks how iconic operas such as this can remain relevant today.

Mariposa is based on an original score by three-time Spanish MAX Awards winner for performing arts Luis Miguel Cobo, inspired by both Caribbean sounds and Puccini. The libretto is by French-Indian writer Karthika Nair, costumes and sets are by 2023 Olivier Award nominee Ryan Dawson Laight, and lighting is by Guerra’s longtime collaborator Barnaby Booth.

The exceptional cast includes Dan Baines (BalletBoyz) as the Sailor, Holly Saw (Mathew Bourne’s Edward Scissorhands) as Kate and Elle Taylor-Francis (Northern Ballet and Leipzig Ballet). Two more cast members are yet to be announced.

Tour dates

Monday, 7 and Tuesday, 8 October
The Dukes, Lancaster
Moor Lane, Lancaster LA1 1QE
Box office: 01524 598500 / https://dukeslancaster.org/

Monday, 14 and Tuesday, 15 October
The Lighthouse, Poole
21 Kingland Rd, Poole BH15 1UG
Box office: 01202 280000 / https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/

Tuesday, October 22
Theatre Studio, Sheffield
Shearwood Rd, Broomhall, Sheffield S10 2TD
Box office: 0114 222 8888 / https://performancevenues.group.shef.ac.uk/whats-on/

Friday, 22nd and Saturday, 23rd November
MAST, Southampton
142, 144 Above Bar St, Southampton SO14 7DU
Ticket sales: 023 8071 1811 / https://www.mayflower.org.uk/

Monday, 25 and Tuesday, 26 November
Lakeside Arts, Nottingham
University Park, Lakeside Arts, Nottingham NG7 2RD
Box office: 0115 846 7777 / https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/externalrelations/lakeside-arts.aspx

13 and 14 February
Harrogate Theatre
6 Oxford St, Harrogate HG1 1QF
Box office: 01423 502116 / https://www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk/
Monday, 24 – Wednesday, 26 February
The place, London
17 Duke’s Road, London WC1H 9PY
Box office: 020 7121 1100 / https://theplace.org.uk/whats-on

Thursday, 13 – Saturday, 15 March
Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre, Leeds
2 St Cecilia St, Leeds LS2 7PA
Box office: 0113 220 8008 / https://northernballet.com/venue/leeds-stanley-audrey-burton-theatre

Friday, March 21
Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton
Wulfruna St, Wolverhampton WV1 1SE
Box office: 01902 321321 / https://www.wlv.ac.uk/arena-theatre/

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