Linden Dance Company tackle the UK’s loneliness epidemic with explosive new outdoor production CAGED

This summer, Birmingham-based Linden Dance Company brings its powerful new outdoor production CAGED to South East Dance (Brighton, 12 June) and festivals across the UK including Amplify Festival (Wakefield, 28 June), Pavilion Dance South West’s Playground Tour (Bournemouth, 7–11 July), Midlands Arts Centre (Birmingham, 13 July), WOW! Fest (Walsall, 18–19 July), Refract Festival at Waterside Arts Centre (Manchester, 27 July), and The Big Feast (Stoke-on-Trent, 23 August).

Created in response to the UK’s growing loneliness crisis, CAGED blends high-impact physicality with real-life stories of isolation. Set in and around a striking 3-metre-high birdcage, the piece follows four characters on a journey from solitude to connection. Through daring movement and a punchy soundtrack, CAGED explores the delicate balance between entrapment and safety, culminating in a message of hope and reconciliation.

Developed through research and community engagement, CAGED is both a performance and a call to action, amplifying unheard voices, raising awareness of the loneliness epidemic, and inspiring communities to unite through creativity.

Based in Birmingham, Linden Dance Company was formed by married couple Christopher Radford and Sara Macqueen in 2020, after over 10 years of artistic collaboration and successful individual performance careers. Known for its bold, physical style that combines Afro-fusion and contemporary dance, the company champions individuality, empowerment, and social connection through dynamic and accessible performances.CAGED follows 2024’s UNBOXED which was performed 39 times in 16 regions of the UK.

Of CAGED Christopher Radford, co-director of Linden Dance Company said: “With CAGED audiences can expect powerful emotion, physicality, and high drama – balanced with hope and positivity. Drawing on our experiences at Linden Dance across performance, education, and community work, we’ve created a piece that is empowering and deeply human. We’re excited to take CAGED to festivals this summer and on tour across the UK and internationally in 2026.”

Sara Macqueen, co-director of Linden Dance Company added: “At its heart, CAGED is about humanity. Inspired by the UK’s loneliness epidemic, the piece explores isolation - but more importantly, the journey towards reconnection, community, and empowerment. At Linden Dance, we’re committed to using dance as a force for inclusion, well-being, and positive change, and we hope CAGED resonates with our audiences this summer.”

As part of CAGED, Linden Dance Company delivered a six-week intergenerational project, Togetherness. Taking place in Wolverhampton, it saw students from Stowlawn Primary and Smestow Academy paired with residents from East Park and Charnwood Car Homes. Through weekly sessions they connected through conversation, storytelling and creative movement. The company is delivering community activity to combat loneliness, using shared experiences of participants to help inform CAGED.

CAGED is funded and supported by Arts Council England, Pavilion Dance South West, Falmouth University, 101 Outdoor Arts and University of Lincoln.

Togetherness was generously supported by HM Government and the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Commonwealth Legacy Fund.