Hail the New Puritan 1986

The film opens with a striking dance number that is repeatedly interrupted by Leigh Bowery and his friends, including Sue Tilley and Nicola Bateman (later Nicola Bowery), as they drift toward a table of fruit. Michael Clark wakes up and begins rehearsing, while other members of the company gradually arrive, setting a mood of quiet anticipation and shared creative focus. A reporter phones in and stops by to interview Clark, exploring how he first started dancing, why he moved to London, and his growing interest in traditional Scottish dance.

Clark appears on a TV program with Mark E. Smith and Brix Smith-Start, a moment that bridges his intimate studio world with a broader public stage. Across the river, Gaby Agis walks along the water’s edge, musing about finding her own apartment after staying with Clark, a small detail that hints at the web of intimate dependencies within the company. The group performs scenes drawn from New Puritans, weaving together movement, sound, and image in a way that feels both rehearsed and improvisational.

Meanwhile, Julie Hood’s boyfriend is shown wandering through London, a thread that situates the dancers in a living city outside the studio. Clark and Agis collaborate on a scene for a film, their bodies and intentions aligning in a moment that feels both cinematic and kinetic. Clark visits Bowery, who along with his friends Trojan and Rachel, are “getting ready” for the clubs, a tableau that blends nightlife with artistic ritual and blurs the lines between performance and everyday life. Clark departs for a rendezvous with “a date,” then heads out to clubs himself, where he dances with the same unguarded honesty that marks the film’s early scenes.

As dawn approaches, Clark returns to a quiet apartment where Agis is already in bed. He undresses and stages a private, intimate moment, dancing to Elvis’s Are You Lonesome Tonight?, a scene that lingers with a sense of vulnerability and release. The film captures a day in the life of a creative ensemble, balancing public appearances, club culture, and the quiet, private rituals that sustain their art.