The Brown Suite brings 1970s funk and soul dance to the Theatre Royal

The Brown Suite², a dance show set in 1970s New York, plays Theatre Royal Brighton on Tuesday and Wednesday at 7.30pm. The music is by James Brown, Etta James and Sam Cooke.

It is the first full-length work by BlacBrik, the duo of Nahum McLean and Darius Drooh, who created, directed and choreographed it. McLean is from Manchester and Drooh from California. They met at the Alvin Ailey School in New York in 2013 and set up BlacBrik in 2023. Brighton audiences saw them earlier this year in Ballet Nights at the same theatre.

The story follows friends in a soul-era community as they find love, lose it and look for their way back to one another. The dancing mixes ballet and modern technique with funk and jazz. It’s a seated show, but the company says audiences have been dancing in their seats.

“More than anything, we want people to feel the music in their bodies and maybe even dance their way home,” McLean and Drooh said when the tour was announced.

The show runs 1 hour 30 minutes with an interval. Both nights were still on sale on Monday morning. Tickets start at £25 for Tuesday and £15 for Wednesday, fees included.