FEDORA - Gentleman Jack

VAN CLEEF & ARPELS
Dance Prize 2025
Winner

Gentleman Jack

United Kingdom
Northern Ballet

Gentleman Jack- cover image © i

A major new ballet based on the life of Anne Lister (1791-1840), the inspiration for the hugely popular and critically acclaimed BBC series, Gentleman Jack. Often referred to as ‘the first modern lesbian’, Lister was a fiercely independent diarist, landowner and business owner, who lived and loved in Yorkshire – where Northern Ballet creates, performs and tells stories to resonate with audiences today.

Presentation

Northern Ballet is creating a new ballet inspired by the remarkable life of historical Yorkshire figure, Anne Lister, or ‘Gentleman Jack’. Lister is a striking historical figure who lived as she desired and blazed her own trail throughout the 19th Century. Her life has inspired biographies, novels and a hit BBC/HBO series, but we will be the first to tell her story through ballet.

Gentleman Jack will open in Leeds in spring 2026 before touring to Sheffield, Nottingham, Salford, London and Norwich. Our award-winning creative team will include Sally Wainwright, Gentleman Jack; series showrunner, choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa (Frida and Coco Chanel, the life of a fashion icon) and New Zealand-based composer Claire Cowan, (Cinderella, Royal New Zealand Ballet) who will create a new score for the production. Following its UK tour, it will be performed in Helsinki by our partners, Finnish National Opera & Ballet.

Alongside the new ballet, our Learning team will be launching an extensive school education programme, which will explore themes of identity, allyship and compassion. By supporting young people to challenge prejudice, celebrate diversity and express themselves, we hope to make a lasting impact both on and off stage. 