Free
In a world confined by borders, flags and occupied lands. Who dares to dream? Who dares to break the cycles of oppression? Who dares to be joyful in the darkest hour? ‘Free' embarks on a powerful quest for a place of no limitations on people’s way of life and way of being. We sing: "take me to a place where I am free, leave the people dem so they can see." We dance as the Nyabinghi rhythms vibrate our bodies and we skank to the pulse of the one drop. Through the power of Reggae Culture and highly-physical dance, ‘Free’ immerses audiences in the unwavering pursuit of freedom. Celebrating Reggae's global injection that has ignited revolutions all over the world since the 1960s. An immersive performance accompanied by original music with strong reggae and hints of jazz influences, written and performed by ‘Buck and The Magnificence’ in the Reggae Dub style, held together by the storytelling nature of Toussaint To Move's world.
- Rating: 5 / 5 (30 reviews)
Reviews
- Nandita Shankardass — ★★★★★ (5/5) — December 1, 2025
Free was freeing! A joy to watch and experience the show and get up to dance along with the community of dancers present! The performance was deeply embodied and empowered by an excellent cast of performers to an incredible original musical score, which combined made for a powerful celebration of the show’s themes and being together at the theatre! - Lauren Hassan-Leslie — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 28, 2025
Really poignant production. Important, dynamic and full of soul. The soundtrack took us on an incredible journey. Liberation and connection - Terry Doyle — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 28, 2025
Absolutely loved everything about the performance from the movement to the music. And the fact that the audience was so close to the performers added to the power of it all. Plus the message of finding freedom in the midst of all that's happening in the world was like a breath of fresh air. Massive well done to all involved and thank you! - Chantal Taylor — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 28, 2025
A brilliant and vibrant performance full of songs that are still stuck in my head! The dancing and choreography was beyond amazing, I'd never seen anything like it before! - Alexander Ferris — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 27, 2025
This was like nothing else I'd ever experienced before. It was so powerful - the energy in the room was incredible. I'm not a dancer but I couldn't help but move and get caught up in the rhythms. It covered so much ground from the domestic to the global and everything in between. I had such a great night. The audience in Stockton were so moved by it - physically and emotionally. It spoke to me so much about community, unity and spirit. - Sia G. — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 23, 2025
FREE spoke to my soul on many levels; it is intergenerational, introspective, and invigorating. Akeim Toussaint Buck artfully blurs the line between observer and collaborator, echoing the wisdom of Nyabinghi and Cypher with ease. I was grateful to be met with a floating Ankh, a beefy sound system, and five guides (dancers) who invited us to shake and roar in rhythm with each other. Students of Academy Breakin’ Convention - first-of-its-kind Hip Hop and theatre education for 16-19 year olds - were incorporated into this performance, exploring their own place in holding ceremony and heralding another future for this art form. This work, rooted in Reggae, reminded me of the importance of history, legacy, gathering, grounding, and recognising how your liberation and mine are intertwined. - Isabella Shirley-Miller — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 23, 2025
Free A dreamscape of memory, symbols; a festival at dawn, an ancient Egyptian temple, a familial yard party…where is this place we are communing within? People mingle, connecting with curiosity and anticipation; some are here remembering their roots, others attracted by the title “Free” or fans of the album keen to experience its embodiment. Community dancers are woven into the audience, we are one. As the performers enter, we sense their presence with us, of us, immersed in the same dream, dreaming itself through rhythms, melodies, lyrics and movement enveloping the space. Dancers with smiles full of heart; Skin, alive with electricity tingling passion, momentum and joy, then grief, rage and effort’s sweat. Transformations of movement phrases interact with pulsing bass, contracting-releasing muscle, breath and flesh in unison, solo and syncopated collaboration. The reggae rich, jazz inflected songscape delivers its message with determination and courage, interlocking with rippling spinal undulations, stretched limbs, spinning exuberance, Afro-curls, plaits, and dreads framing vibrant facial expressions. Each performer emboldens their body-story, authentically connecting to the choreography and one another. We become a spontaneous gathering of bodies, reverberating bone, illuminated mind. The atmosphere, tangible, enticing, unified, we holla in adoration of the dancer's grooves, applauding the ideals of freedom in mind, society, politics, land, that echo throughout the piece in the visceral immediacy of what is collectively known without saying a word. Free lifts us on a journey alongside these dancers, whose commitment to the moment erupts with sparks of soul that activate your cells; every gestural articulation slicing the air, rebounding from earth, touching hearts, moving bodies. This is a show to be felt, received and related with. Free savours the complexity of its own flavours and invites you to bathe in the abundant waters of togetherness. Will you swim? dance? fight? Be Free? - Elle Dillon-Reams — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 23, 2025
To have such a FREE and inclusive piece in a prestigious venue that has previously felt exclusive was a rebellious, necessary, punk, poignant protest, done in a joyous, energetic, alive groove. Incredibly exciting to be a part of, a reminder of the potential aliveness of theatre and live art. - Frankie Roberts — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 22, 2025
A beautifully immersive and powerful show. It allowed feeling and emotion to flow from performer to audience and back again. You truly felt part of a living, breathing thing. Truly free. - Rosalind Parker — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 22, 2025
Loved Free! A truly immersive experience. I felt transported, transformed and brought back to a sense of community and liberation that resides in all our bones but is so often forgotten. So inspired to see this and to be able to carry it away with me in my cells. This kind of medicine is what the world needs! - Louise Belfon — ★★★★☆ (4/5) — November 22, 2025
Enjoyed the energy, vybez and music. - BC NO surname Name — ★★★★☆ (4/5) — November 21, 2025
It was good I was bobbing my head to the music and it reminded me of going to 'Blues'. Which at the time was about and for the community. I enjoyed the shoutouts. It took me a bit to understand the story but I got it. - Emma Coleman — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 21, 2025
Awesome! Emotional! Uplifting! Joy. Yes. More reggae reggae vibes fused with contemporary dance and original music PLEASE! Lush. Quality. Excellence. Important!!!! Thank you and congtatulations!! - Crystal Zillwood — ★★★★☆ (4/5) — November 21, 2025
I struggled to keep still! I wanted to just dance with you all! Congratulations this needs to be showcased indoor & outdoor! Thank you for bringing the joy! - Leo Carrie — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 21, 2025
Loved it, gettin the album. Wanted to dance through it!!! - Jessica King — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 21, 2025
It was a great show. Would have been good to be able to dance as well but was grateful to be able to sit down. Music was amazing. The dancers were incredible! So impressed they could dance for so long! Really enjoyed it thank you! - Juliet Walford — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 21, 2025
This was an incredibly uplifting, inspiring and highly original performance. We loved every aspect of it - the immersive experience, the infectious music, the outstanding energy, rhythm and talent of the dancers. Also really special to join in with the live music “after party” upstairs.. we’ll all be there for the next one! - Valentina G — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 15, 2025
I left the show beaming. It was that wonderful mix of vibrancy and depth. So many elements I enjoyed- the celebration of sound system culture, the reggae and dub music, and the resonance from being so close to the power, bounce and grace of the dancers. I’d go see the show again if I could. Loved it. - Jasmine Semujju — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 15, 2025
'Free' was such a delightful and refreshing piece of theatre. I didn't expect the piece to be immersive but I think that was needed for the piece! I loved the music the power in the lyrics and meaning behind the words, the immersive engagement from the audience. I felt very free and empowered after watching this performance! I would love to see this again in the future! - Chrisanna Chambers — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 15, 2025
Free hits a little closer to home for me, due to the familial connection. I know the creator personally and I have known and seen his ambition and growth. Free is a breath of fresh air, it’s an ode to reggae, to freedom, to oneness and individuality at the same time. Free gives hope that one day at a time we can change the world into something better. Music and movement can have a profound effect on the consciousness and that has been my take away. - monica Crowe — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 14, 2025
‘Free’ is such a joyous and refreshing dance performance. It gives a sense of hope in this desperate world that we live in. It was uplighting and inspiring. ‘They will not destroy us..we are the conquering lion..’ yes, let’s rise up together against all the systems and dictators we are confided and suppressed by right now! The week after I spoke out at work, challenging the workload and pressure at school that we are all feeling overwhelmed and exhausted by. This piece somehow inspired me to feel free to do this. The performers were in it, the dance was in them, not dressed onto them. They were free. As an audience member the shared space made you feel free. It was a welcome to not have that barrier between performer and audience. To move around the space, to dance or to be still. So many smiles and connections between audience members. I chatted with around 5 people I didn’t know afterwards, who were equally inspired and uplifted as I! I love the line ‘ I know my ancestors will comfort me’ This song is soothing and joyous. It made me think of my dad who sadly died last year and all that he stood for. I will be gently playing this song as my children come into class in the morning at school. Everyone needs to see this dance piece. It is refreshing, uplighting and gives a real sense of hope. Monica Crowe - Laura Barritt — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 14, 2025
Absolutely incredible, from start to finish. Loved the immersive element to it and it definitely took you on a journey. Felt free for sure leaving… - Beatrice Brook-Farrell — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 14, 2025
What a brilliant performance to have been created! I've never seen a show like it. Was truly a pleasure to be part of this, and to be able to move with the dancers, who had such passion and character. The choreography and music told many powerful stories, singing at the top of its lungs, of our fundamental human need for connection and love. Really hope to see more soon, thank you! - Javontae Augustine — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 14, 2025
A TRUE LOVE LETTER TO REGGAE AND THE REVOLUTIONARY & LIBERATING SPIRIT IT BRINGS - coco w — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 14, 2025
Free was a unique and beautiful experience. The choreography and the music was of incredible quality, inventive, exciting and complex. The movers performed with precision and character. At some moments, views were slightly obstructed, so, maybe with some tweaks to staging, I would love to see this show again, and be properly immersed in all its magic and energy. - C Sttzkr — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 14, 2025
Hope to see it live again!! - Natasha Tee — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 14, 2025
Just what my soul needed! FREE felt like a collective meditation, I felt myself going inside, experiencing the emotions that each element brought up. It is so beautiful to see the expression of reggae, dance and the art of the sound system in this piece. Truly beautiful, captivating and an honor to experience. I look forward to more! - Zed Goal — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 14, 2025
A nourishing feast for the eyes, mind and culture. What a way to experience theatre. The unconventional ‘gig’ style of this showcase allows for the audience to be immersed into the storytelling beyond the fourth wall. With sound system culture permeating throughout all aspects of this work, ‘FREE’ is a truly authentic performance that encapsulates the spirit of reggae/dub and Caribbean ideology’s. A must see that leaves audiences with songs that ring true beyond the stage. 11/10, would recommend. - James CC — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 14, 2025
While initially feeling reticent to join in with the dancing, Free pushed me to let loose and challenge that feeling. The length of the show coupled with the non-stop music slowly unshackles the audience so that we can be present in the space, the performance and our bodies. - Georgia Thompson — ★★★★★ (5/5) — November 14, 2025
‘FREE’ is an absolutely magical experience! The backdrop of the sound systems, the movers, the costumes and the music transport you to an underground dance where you witness a true sense of unapologetic being. It is both joyful and heartbreaking to watch and be invited to move and dance and sing and just express without limitation, while at the same time feeling and seeing the self censoring we have all adopted today. The energy is the space was beautiful, the performers were both unified and individual and the music was infectious. Honestly, chefs kiss!