So what inspired you to do this production?

Well I think the story of Exagora-B is one that almost everyone knows, and having spent many years researching the events I think it's a compelling story that works well as a ballet.

Many have questioned your choices about focusing the story around Charles Richards. Why them?

In many accounts Charles plays a key role in the events at the facility. The images of Richard's slaying SCO Castell is a very powerful one, a pure display of emotion and the culminations of the prisoners overthrowing their brutal regime. I think that singular moment is really a metaphor for both the events of the prisoners versus the guards, and in a larger context the pivotal role the facility played in changing the tide of the war. In a single moment we capture the essence of a hugely significant part of history, and allow the audience to connect with the whole war on a very visceral level.

Now, not wanting to spoil the ending of the piece, but it is well known that Richards never made it off the planet.

No, I think most people who come to see the show are going to be aware of this fact. But far fewer people are aware of precisely how they died, and the ballet really is about his story. One common theme throughout his life is that of protecting those around him. Again, the killing of SCO Castell indirectly protect hundreds of people, and the effect it had on the wider war probably protected billions more.

However his more personal forms of protection are where a lot of the emotional centre of the piece comes from. In particular as long-time protector of Athena Ibsen, another key character in the piece, Charles shows his emotional side. Of course we end with the final emotional scene where he confronts Andras, who has also gone through a similar emotional arc, and their final death as the two of them embrace; Charles protecting the rest of the prison from an distraught Andras; I don't think we're going to have a dry eye in the audience.

Indeed, you have often said that this final scene really emphasises the themes of Redemption prevalent throughout the piece.

Yes, as with all those in the Reform Facility, Charles had been involved in a lot of criminal activity before his incarceration. But his action throughout his time there, as portrayed in the performance, show a continued attempt to redeem himself for his past actions. It is a theme that keeps coming back throughout the narrative, and one that I think makes Charles such a compelling character.

An extract from an interview about the Ballet “True Redemption”, 763PE