Following his Olivier Award in 2019 for Outstanding Achievement in Dance, Akram Khan returns to the stage for the final UK performances of his full-length solo XENOS, alongside five world-class musicians.

Shifting between kathak and contemporary dance, Khan conjures the shell-shocked dream of a colonial soldier in the First World War. Meaning ‘stranger’ or ‘foreigner’, XENOS takes place on the border between East and West, past and present, mythology and technology, where humanity stands in wonder and disarray.

A stellar creative team joins the journey, including fellow Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist lighting designer Michael Hulls, dramaturg Ruth Little, playwright Jordan Tannahill, designer Mirella Weingarten, costume designer Kimie Nakano and composer Vincenzo Lamagna.

Part of Carnival of Shadows

Image description: Akram Khan, bearded and wearing a grubby cotton shirt and trousers, lies on his back, arms open to the sides, on a steep magenta-coloured slope, covered with a thin layer of dark soil. Thick ropes hang down alongside him. He gazes upwards with apprehension.

Commissioned by 14-18 NOW: WW1 Centenary Art Commissions, supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England, and by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Co-produced by Onassis Cultural Centre – Athens, The Grange Festival Hampshire, Sadler’s Wells London, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Théâtre de la Ville – Paris/La Villette – Paris, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, National Arts Centre Ottawa, The Center for China Shanghai International Arts Festival (CSIAF), Centro Cultural de Belém, Festspielhaus St. Pölten, Grec 2018 Festival de Barcelona, HELLERAU – European Center for the Arts Dresden, Tanz Köln, Edinburgh International Festival, Adelaide Festival, Festival Montpellier Danse 2018, Julidans Amsterdam, Canadian Stage Toronto, Romaeuropa Festival, Torinodanza festival / Teatro Stabile di Torino – Teatro Nazionale, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts New York, University of California Berkeley, Danse Danse Montreal, Curve Leicester, La Comédie de Clermont-Ferrand – scène nationale.
Sponsored by COLAS
Supported by Arts Council England
Produced during residency at The Grange Festival, Hampshire and Onassis Cultural Centre – Athens (OCC).