Olivier Award-winning dancer, choreographer and composer Dickson Mbi will bring his new production TELLUS to Sadler’s Wells East in October this year. The new piece has been co-written with poet Nick Drake and with mentorship by Complicité’s Simon McBurney.
Coming to Sadler’s Wells this October is a new piece by award-winning dancer and choreographer Dickson Mbi called TELLUS. Featuring an original score, this production is inspired by Mbi’s Cameroonian heritage as well as his wish to help his son make sense of an increasingly uncertain world through a bedtime story.
Dickson Mbi said, “I am very excited to be back at Sadlers wells with TELLUS, it is our first ensemble work for the company as most of our works through the company have been solos or group works commissioned by other companies.
This particularly means a lot to me because I am from East London and grew up in around the Stratford area, so to be able to present this work at Sadler’s Wells East at this moment in our journey is very special to me, because it feels like I am returning home to where I am from and hopefully I would have made a lot of people proud or inspire the next generation of East Londoners.”
The creative team behind TELLUS
Co-commissioned and co-produced by Sadler’s Wells, TELLUS is co-written by poet Nick Drake, with mentorship by Complicité’s Simon McBurney.
The show features an original immersive score by Mbi himself, led by African vocals and Chinese percussion. Featuring eight dancers of global heritage, the company uses modern contemporary dance, African traditional dance movement, street dance and hip hop in the work.
TELLUS is an epic tale inspired by the mythical deity Mami Wata. It follows a young boy disconnected from Mother Earth as he is thrust into a village suffering a devastating drought. Guided by an Old Lady/Goddess he understands a fundamental truth: humanity has forgotten how to worship and protect the land, and his journey is a desperate struggle to heal a broken relationship, restore balance and to reconnect with nature.
The creative team also includes video artists Yeast Culture, lighting designer Lee Curran, set designer Ruby Law, costume design by Debbie Duru and costume consultant Fay Fullerton, with sound design by Tony Gayle.
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