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Sadler's Wells, London
Approx. 2 hours including 1 interval
#ENBCreature
Akram Khan's powerful ballet returns

In a dilapidated former Arctic research station, the Creature has been conscripted by a military brigade into a bold new experimental programme. He is being tested for his mental and physical ability to adapt to extreme cold, isolation and homesickness; vital qualities in mankind’s proposed colonisation of the final frontiers, on earth and beyond. In humanity’s fight for survival, who will be left behind?

In Creature, choreographer Akram Khan immerses us in a future that is closer than we think, revealing an unearthly tale of exploitation and abandonment. His hypnotic choreography sees dancers glitching, flowing and marching to a compulsive score by Vincenzo Lamagna, which blends electronic sounds, speech and a live orchestra.

Inspired by Georg Büchner’s expressionist classic Woyzeck, with shadows of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Creature is a unique dance experience – visceral, absorbing, and earth-shaking.

Following the pivotal impact of Dust and Giselle, Creature is Akram Khan’s third collaboration with English National Ballet. The brilliant creative team is completed by Academy Award-winning designer Tim Yip, lighting designer Michael Hulls and dramaturg Ruth Little.

Superb… A tight-wound drama that never lets up. [Khan] piles up themes and imagery into a monumental whole.
★★★★★ The Independent

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A co-production between English National Ballet and Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (OBV)
Co-producers; Sadler’s Wells, London

Main Image: Dancer: Jeffrey Cirio. Photo © Jason Bell. Creative Direction: Charlotte Wilkinson

This performance contains flashing lights, loud music, haze effects, themes of suicide and death, and depictions of sexual violence and abuse.

Reviews

“Pulls at the heartstrings in a visually striking way”

Synopsis

Time: the present, leaning slightly into the future
Place: a remote archipelago in the High Arctic

Act I
In a dilapidated former Arctic research station, Creature has been conscripted by a military brigade into a bold new experimental programme. He is being tested for his mental and physical ability to adapt to extreme cold, isolation and homesickness; vital qualities in mankind’s proposed colonisation of the final frontiers on earth and in space. When not engaged in menial labour with fellow soldier Andres, Creature is examined and tested by the brigade Doctor, and cared for by his keeper Marie, with whom he is in love. The brigade’s routine is interrupted by the arrival of the Major, who brings news of the historic mission for which they have all been training. Creature is sent out on a punishing expedition. On his return the countdown begins and the brigade celebrates its departure. Andres and Creature join the dance uninvited, but the festivities are suddenly interrupted.

 Act II
The Doctor celebrates the success of her experiments on Creature with a demonstration lecture to the brigade. The Major attempts to seduce Marie, inviting her to join him on the mission, and banishes Creature into the blizzard. Creature returns, and is beaten by the Major. The countdown to the mission launch begins. When Marie resists the Major’s demands, he turns his rage and power against her. The brigade and the Major abandon the site. Alone among the broken things, Creature remembers and mourns.

MEET THE PRINCIPAL CAST

CREATIVE TEAM

Akram Khan
Direction and Choreography
Vincenzo Lamagna
Original Music and Sound Design
James Keane
Orchestration
Tim Yip
Visual and Costume Design
Michael Hulls
Lighting Design
Ruth Little
Dramaturgy
Andrej Petrovic
Assistant Choreographer
Mavin Khoo
Repetiteur and Coaching of Principals
Nicola Henshall
Rehearsal Director
Yvonne Gilbert
Sound System Designer

Credits

Meet the principal cast

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