Dante or Die is a British theatre company specialising in creating and touring site-specific performances. Since 2006, they have been creating original performances across the UK in a variety of locations.

The Co-Artistic Directors, Daphna Attias and Terry O’Donovan co-create these productions. Their creation processes usually happen over a couple of years. Over this time, they connect and collaborate with playwrights, designers, neuroscientists, or people from the communities that they are working in. Regarding their unusual name Terry explains:

“When Daphna and I were students we made a show in a skate park in South London. The words ‘Dante or Die’ were graffitied on the concrete. The graffiti inspired an improvisation during the on-site devising process that resulted in a show that saw me rollerblading in an elaborate pink ball gown. When we were searching for a name for the company we came back to that graffiti. It came from the space – and from local people who had painted it there. We wanted to make shows that had a ‘do or die’ feel to them, something that would remind us to always be inspired by the spaces around us, and by the people who occupy them. So we became Dante or Die.” – Terry O’Donovan

Dante or Die especially focus on creating partnerships with arts organisations and local businesses. In the past they have worked with Almeida Theatre, Traverse Theatre, The Lowry, BAM New York, Cork Midsummer Festival, Lighthouse Poole, Ideas Test, Greenwich + Docklands International Festival. They are also currently a SITELINES Associate Artists at South Street Reading.

Dante or Die were commissioned by the Lincoln Arts Centre to present ‘Inside Odds On’ at the Waterside Shopping centre in Lincoln (October 2024) which had previously toured in  Derbion Shopping Centre, Harlow and Rochdale. This experience included an award-winning solo interactive film, reflections from people whose lives have been affected by gambling and opportunities to take part in workshops and talks.