IT was a desire to go on a journey which led Brighton-based former Rambert Dance Company performer Antonia Grove to set up Probe and start investigating longer-form work.

“A lot of the more abstract visual and non- narrative based dance seemed to have a duration that was a lot shorter than an hour,” she says, as latest show Running On Empty finishes its national tour at the Brighton Festival.

“We would put lots of short pieces together for an evening – but I had a desire to go on a journey and have more continuity.”

Probe started in 2004 and launched with the duet Have We Met Somewhere Before?, exploring both the wild, tender and ironic sides of a relationship on a bare stage.

Follow-up Magpie from 2008 was more of a variety piece, featuring seven contrasting duets between Grove and collaborator Theo Clinkard.

Joining short pieces together made for what Grove describes as a slightly disjointed evening, until she hit on the idea of including text to establish some clarity.

It was 2011’s May, written in collaboration with Tim Crouch, which saw Grove establish her storytelling vision – teaming up with Lost Dog’s Ben Duke and musician Scott Smith to tell the story of a woman living on the edge and a man living in his head.

“Song came in without us even knowing,” she admits. “Text can be very direct, dance can be very non-direct – and song sits somewhere between the two.

“I think there was a definite desire for me to have a longer journey through a piece and an hour seemed roughly how the longevity of the story worked – it gave time for an audience to sink into the piece.”

The following year Grove worked with creator Wendy Houstoun on one-woman dance theatre show Small Talk, which saw her take on the persona of a series of American actresses.

Running On Empty has been both Grove’s most ambitious and most challenging production to date.

“With the last show I collaborated with the writer making a script before we even went into the rehearsal room,” says Grove.

“I wanted to change the process, so the director had more freedom. We devised the story as we went along. All the trust was in the director to bring all those elements together and make it cohesive.

“We have been on a real journey – the piece is completely different from the first draft we performed in Eastleigh in October.”

To assist in the creation process, Grove teamed up with fellow performer Greig Cooke and musician Smith from May, as well as bringing in Royal Court director Jo McInnes, writer Brad Birch, choreographer Charlie Morrissey and songwriter Lee Ross.

“It was ambitious in the sense we needed the best people in their craft to do the job,” she says. “The sheer amount of creativity in the room was challenging for sure.”

The research period for what was set to be an epic piece began by exploring the notion of survival.

“We did a lot of experimentation with movement and texts from primitive man to the futuristic,”

says Grove. “We thought about if the water levels rise how things would be in the future and about how the first man and woman on the planet would have reacted to each other.”

As research continued, the story became more personal – focusing on a man and a woman in a journey through memories and dreams, jumping between fantasy and reality.

“It comes through a very simple story that everyone can relate to,” says Grove, who plays a woman recently separated from her partner, either through death or the end of the relationship, recalling their time together.

Smith’s role as narrator and musician helps break up some of the tension of the piece and adds a little humour or lightness.

“I really like the intimacy of watching one or two people on stage,” says Grove. “A group can be a completely different set up – there’s a simplicity between a man and a woman.”

As the tour comes to an end, Grove is now thinking about what will come next – and is considering taking control of the creative process herself.

“What I have learned from this piece is I have more skills that I think,” she says.

“Over the years I have worked with lots of different collaborators but now I have the confidence to take a more front seat role.

“Normally it’s my idea that we start with and then I hand it over to someone else – I don’t want to do that any more.”