The story follows a local male sex-worker and a sailor from overseas as they fall in love in a remote Caribbean port under the flickering neon lights. However, in exchange for love and a better life the young man is asked to sacrifice his gender.
Mariposa: A Queer Tragedy is choreographer Carlos Pons Guerra’s reinterpretation of Puccini’s famous opera Madame Butterfly. It’s an operatic dance drama that shifts Puccini’s Orientalist story to post-revolution Cuba, where it portrays a world of tired showgirls, hopeful rent boys, troubled sailors, and divine queer spirits.
Set in a Cuban port during a tropical storm of repressed desires, the production is a passionate and deeply moving exploration of what people are willing to sacrifice to be loved and accepted.
“There is nothing like Pons Guerra’s work elsewhere on the British stage”
Dance Europe
Carlos Pons Guerra, nicknamed ‘the Pedro Almodovar of dance’ by the BBC, is one of the UK’s leading voices in contemporary queer dance. His work has a distinctive style, theatricality, and aesthetic, exploring gender, cultural, and sexual identity. His creations draw from his personal experience and aim to bring LGBTQ+ narratives to the forefront of dance, integrating elements of his Hispanic/Latinx cultural heritage. In 2021, he premiered Mariposa, a production that reimagines the gender and colonialist themes of Madame Butterfly, questioning the relevance of such iconic operas in today’s society.
Mariposa features an original score by Luis Miguel Cobo, a three-time winner of the Spanish MAX Awards for the Performing Arts. The music blends Caribbean sounds with inspiration from Puccini. The libretto was written by French-Indian author Karthika Nair. Ryan Dawson Laight, a nominee for the 2023 Olivier Award, designed the costume and set, and Barnaby Booth, a long-time collaborator of Guerra, designed the lighting.
Mariposa Cast
An exceptional cast includes Miles Kearly (Arlene Phillips’ House of Flamenka) as Mariposa, Dan Baines (BalletBoyz) as Preston, the sailor, Holly Saw (Matthew Bourne’s Edward Scissorhands) as Kate, while Elle Francis-Woods (Northern Ballet and Leipzig Ballet) and Jaivant Patel (Jaivant Patel Dance) will share the role of Madame Gertrudis, the brothel owner.
Mariposa is on 25 and 26 February at The Place, 17 Duke’s Road, London WC1H 1QF, United Kingdom.
Mariposa: A Queer Tragedy National Tour Dates
Monday 10 February
Drama Studio, Sheffield
Shearwood Rd, Broomhall, Sheffield S10 2TD
Box office: 0114 222 8888 / https://performancevenues.group.shef.ac.uk/whats-on/
Friday 14 February
Harrogate Theatre
6 Oxford St, Harrogate HG1 1QF
Box office: 01423 502116 / https://www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk/
Friday 28 February
Mansfield Palace Theatre
Old ABC Cinema, Leeming St, Mansfield NG18 1NG
Box office: 01623 463133 / https://www.mansfield.gov.uk/palacetheatre/
Friday 14 & 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 21 March
Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton
Wulfruna St, Wolverhampton WV1 1SE
Box office: 01902 321321 / https://www.wlv.ac.uk/arena-theatre/
