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International Tour
Fri 10 - Sat 11 May 2024
Armenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, Yerevan
Book now
Wed 18 - Sat 28 Sep 2024
Sadler's Wells, London

General ooking opens on 25 March 10am

1 hour 55 minutes including one interval
#ENBGiselle
Age guidance: 8+
The iconic ballet, reimagined

Following acclaimed performances around the world, and sold-out shows in Manchester and Bristol in 2023, Akram Khan’s Giselle tours to Armenia, and returns to Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London for the first time in five years.

As the curtain rises, dancers in shadow push against a forbidding wall. From that moment on, this ground-breaking production stuns with powerful images.

Mesmerising choreography, atmospheric lighting by Mark Henderson and a towering set by Academy Award-winner Tim Yip conjure up a condemned factory and the vengeful ghosts that appear in its shadows.

The ominous score by Vincenzo Lamagna – adapted from the original by Adolphe Adam and performed live by English National Ballet Philharmonic – intensifies the story’s emotional impact.

See the greatest romantic ballet and its story of love, betrayal, and redemption, boldly reimagined.

It may well rank as a masterpiece of 21st century dance
The Mail on Sunday

Tickets for London performances will go on sale on Monday 25 March at 10am. Priority booking opens on Monday 18 March to our Patrons, Wednesday 20 March to Great Friends and Friday 22 March to Friends. Become a Friend of English National Ballet to enjoy priority booking and discounts (T&Cs apply).

Stream Akram Khan’s Giselle on Ballet on Demand.

Buy the DVD of Akram Khan’s Giselle here.

Main image: English National Ballet dancers in Akram Khan’s Giselle © Laurent Liotardo.

Dates & venues

Armenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, Yerevan
Fri 10 - Sat 11 May 2024
Sadler's Wells, London
Wed 18 - Sat 28 Sep 2024

General ooking opens on 25 March 10am

CREATIVE TEAM

Akram Khan
Direction and Choreography
Tim Yip
Visual and Costume Design
Vincenzo Lamagna
Composition and Sound Design, after the original score by Adolphe Adam
Gavin Sutherland
Orchestration
Mark Henderson
Lighting Design
Ruth Little
Dramaturgy
Andrej Petrovic
Assistant Choreographer
Mavin Khoo
Repetiteur
Yvonne Gilbert
Sound Designer

Synopsis

Act I

Giselle is one of a community of migrant garment factory workers (the Outcasts). Dispossessed of their jobs by the factory’s closure, and separated by a high wall from their hopes of livelihood and security, the Outcasts function as little more than exotic entertainment for the factory Landlords.

In Act I, the wealthy Albrecht disguises himself as an Outcast in order to visit his lover Giselle. But his presence is noted by Hilarion – Giselle’s would-be lover – a shape-changing ‘fixer’ who trades with and mimics the Landlords for his own and his community’s profit.

Albrecht’s wooing of Giselle is interrupted by the unexpected arrival of the Landlords. Seeing his fiancée Bathilde among them, Albrecht tries to hide. Giselle recognizes the fine dress worn by Bathilde as the product of her own factory labour. The Outcasts dance for the Landlords until Albrecht and Hilarion disturb the Ceremony with their conflict.

Bathilde’s father confronts Albrecht, forcing him to return to Bathilde and to their world. When he submits and returns to Bathilde, Giselle is driven mad with grief. The Landlord gives a command, and the Outcasts encircle Giselle. When the crowd disperses, her lifeless body is revealed. Denying any responsibility, the Landlords retreat beneath the Wall.

Act II

A wrecked, abandoned ‘ghost’ factory is revealed – a place where Giselle and her female co-workers have labored, and many have died. Here Albrecht, grieving for Giselle, confronts and condemns the Landlords.

Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis (ghosts of factory workers who seek revenge for the wrongs done to them in life), enters, driving Albrecht away. She summons Giselle from her lifeless body into the realm of death, to join the company of the remorseless Wilis.

Hilarion enters to mourn at Giselle’s grave. The Wilis surround him, demanding retribution for Giselle’s death, and Hilarion is brutally killed.

Albrecht returns and becomes aware of Giselle’s presence. The lovers are reunited on the threshold between life and death. Breaking the cycle of violence – and defying Myrtha’s command – Giselle forgives Albrecht and releases him into life.

The Wilis depart with Giselle, and Albrecht, now an outcast from his own community, is left alone by the Wall.

Credits

Meet the principal cast

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