A Good Man is Hard to Find draws inspiration from the 2008 financial crash, and the “Cremation of Care” ceremony; an annual ritual ceremony where the global elite banish their guilt, by the San Francisco private members club Bohemian Grove.

From the breakout choreographic duo of the Biennale Danza 2025, this dark and dominating performance investigates uncomfortable scenarios about power plays, hierarchies, humiliation and sacrifice. Encounter brutal degradation and in-your-face aggression in this raw exposé of masculinity.

The dancers dissect the mythology of power, exposing the absurdity, delusion, hazing and destruction that define these men – emotionally trapped somewhere between a god and a teenage boy.

Original music is juxtaposed with Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony In C Minor: a 20th century anti-war piece re-contextualised within the show in the current climate of genocide, austerity and cultural exploitation. All climaxing in a ritual sacrifice of one performer – think office party at the end of the world meets Greek tragedy.

In 2021 Jacob Samuel and Courtney Deyn founded BULLYACHE. They make live music videos for the stage: choreographing, directing, and composing original works that merge music, avant-garde dance theatre, and pop culture spectacle. The duo were named one of Frieze Magazine’s Artists to Watch in 2026.

BULLYACHE has created three full-length works that have toured internationally, including A Good Man Is Hard to Find, which won the Choreographic Commission Award at the Venice Biennale Danza 2025. The work was described by Le Monde as “staggering” and by Exibart as “a modern sacrificial rite.”

They have been resident artists at Barbican, Studio Wayne McGregor and Britten Pears Arts, and presented work at the Barbican x Warp Records, Abbey Road Studios and at Paris Fashion Week for LOVERBOY. A Ballroom & Latin champion, Courtney trained at the Rambert School of Ballet & Contemporary Dance. Jacob studied Visual Anthropology at Goldsmiths, University of London and is a current Manchester Collective resident.